MPs postpone civil service bill by 3 years

Czech civil servants are not likely to see the implementation of a bill on the civil service originally planned for next year: on Friday the Chamber of Deputies postponed the date of the bill’s coming into effect until 2012. The government has said it wants to draft new legislation to define civil servants' status. Parliament passed the service law back in April 2002 but its implementation has now been postponed three times. The bill outlines the rights and duties of civil servants, including service bonuses, holiday time and severance pay.