In accordance with the provisions of the Civil Servants Law, the State implements a parallel system of civil servants' positions and ranks, and sets up civil servants' leadership positions and rank sequences according to the types and responsibilities of civil servants. In order to implement the spirit of the provisions of the Civil Servants Law, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee has issued the "Regulations on the Parallel Duties and Ranks of Civil Servants" and issued a circular urging all localities and departments to conscientiously abide by them.
Before the implementation of the new civil servants in 2019, the old civil servants law in mainland China stipulated that civil servants should be subject to a system of leading and non-leading positions. The non-leadership positions in the general management category are divided into: inspector, deputy inspector, researcher, deputy researcher, chief staff member, deputy chief staff member, staff member, and clerk.
According to the provisions of the old Civil Servants Law, the leading and non-leading positions of civil servants are actually positions. Civil servants holding non-leadership positions accept the leadership of civil servants serving in leadership positions in the same level of organization, and may be responsible for a certain aspect of work with the authorization or entrustment of the leadership. For ordinary civil servants, job promotion remains the main channel.
On June 1, 2019, the new civil servants came into effect, and the Provisions on the Parallel Ranks of Civil Servants is one of the specific implementation provisions for the implementation of the new Civil Servants Law. Rank is the hierarchy of civil servants, is a promotion channel parallel to leadership positions, reflects the political quality, professional ability, seniority and contribution of civil servants, is an important basis for determining salary, housing, medical care and other benefits, does not have leadership responsibilities.
Civil servants may be promoted through leadership positions or ranks. Civil servants holding leadership positions are to perform leadership duties, and civil servants of rank who do not hold leadership positions are to accept leadership command and perform their duties on the basis of their affiliation.
The main purpose of implementing the parallel system of civil servants' positions and ranks is to establish a rank sequence, smooth the channel for rank promotion, expand the space for rank promotion, promote civil servants to work with peace of mind based on their own posts, strengthen professional construction, and encourage civil servants to start a business and take responsibility.
From this point of view, the implementation of the parallel system of posts and ranks has enabled the vast number of civil servants to see their career development prospects, and they can not only be promoted to their posts, but they can at least be promoted if they cannot be promoted. Civil servants may be promoted through leadership positions or ranks, civil servants in leadership positions perform leadership duties, and civil servants in ranks that do not hold leadership positions accept leadership command and perform their duties on the basis of their subordinate relationships.
According to the new regulations, the rank sequence of civil servants in the comprehensive management category is divided into 12 ranks: first-level inspector, second-level inspector, first-level investigator, second-level investigator, third-level investigator, fourth-level researcher, first-level chief staff member, second-level chief staff member, third-level chief staff member, fourth-level chief staff member, first-level staff member, and second-level staff member, which is four more rank sequences than the original non-leadership positions.
The newly added four rank sequences are mainly to divide the original county and department-level investigators and deputy investigators into two principal positions and two deputy positions, and the investigators are divided into second-level investigators and first-level researchers, and the deputy investigators are divided into fourth-level investigators and third-level investigators. The chief staff members at the township section level are divided into two levels: the second-level director and the first-level chief clerk, and the deputy chief staff at the township section level is divided into the fourth-level chief staff member and the third-level chief clerk.
The reason why the ranks at the county department level and the township section level have been adjusted and refined, and the promotion level has been increased, because among the civil servants in the country, after all, there are very few people who have been promoted to the first-level inspector and the second-level inspector, and the majority of civil servants can generally be promoted to the county department level or the township section level, accounting for the vast majority. The refinement of the ranks increases the feasibility of continuous promotion, so that grassroots civil servants can benefit from and enjoy more opportunities for promotion in practice.
However, due to the parallel regulations on the positions and ranks of civil servants, which were implemented simultaneously with the Civil Servants Law on June 1, 2019, there is still a process of gradual refinement and digestion in various localities. In this process, the original non-leadership positions and ranks are changed.
After the change of non-leadership positions and ranks, the original inspectors became first-level inspectors, the original deputy inspectors were changed to second-level inspectors, the original investigators were changed to second-level investigators, the original deputy investigators were changed to fourth-level investigators, the original chief staff members were changed to second-level chief staff members, and the deputy chief staff members were changed to fourth-level chief staff members.
After the original set of non-leadership posts was changed to the corresponding ranks, almost all of the rank indicators of the entire organ were accounted for, so for civil servants who need to be newly promoted, it is necessary to wait for the quota and the quota, and this process cannot be completed in one or two years, and it is necessary to wait until the retirement of these people to have the quota and the quota.
As of 2024, the rules on the parallel positions and ranks have been implemented for five years, and local implementation rules have also been promulgated, which gives hope to some civil servants. In grassroots practice, most people still have a dream that they can see but cannot touch. Because of the parallel ranks, people with positions have a natural advantage.
Since people with positions also need parallel ranks, some of the conditions for rank promotion only have the requirements of rank, and some have requirements for positions and ranks. For example, a leading cadre at the deputy level at the township section level is not only a leading cadre at the deputy level at the township section level, but also a principal staff member at the third level in parallel.
If you cannot be promoted to the principal leadership position at the township section level, there is still the opportunity to be promoted to the second-level chief clerk. If you want to be promoted to the second-level chief clerk, if the township section-level deputy does not have the tenure of the third-level chief clerk, it is impossible to directly promote from the township section-level deputy to the second-level chief clerk.
Since people in leadership positions occupy the quota of ranks, ordinary civil servants have to be directly promoted from a first-level staff member to a fourth-level chief staff member, or a third-level chief staff member, without ten or eight years of experience, and it is no less difficult than climbing the Himalayas.
To sum up, the parallel system of positions and ranks of civil servants has been implemented for five years, and with the implementation of the implementation rules in various localities, the promotion of some civil servants has been opened. However, due to the fact that there is a certain difference between the ideal and the reality, and the fact that the grass-roots leadership positions occupy some of the ranks, there are still certain bottlenecks in the implementation of this system at the grass-roots level, so that the grass-roots civil servants have not yet fully seen hope. With the continuous improvement of various regulations, perhaps in the near future, grassroots civil servants will feel the real benefits.