Thailand CIVIL SERVICE
Throne Hall (Anantasamakom), the assembly hall for the
Thai government
Courtesy National Archives
A civil service career continued in 1987 to be widely
regarded as a desirable route to financial security, social
status, and power. As a result, despite the universal complaint
about the inadequacy of government salaries, and despite many
well-paid jobs becoming available in the commercial and
industrial sectors, the civil service continued to attract many
of the most promising young men and women.
Personnel administration was in theory centralized under the
Civil Service Commission, which reported to the prime minister.
In actuality the commission's functions were limited to
standardization, general guidance, coordination, and record
keeping. Recruitment, assignment, promotion, and discipline were
handled by each ministry and other public entities. After 1975
government service was divided into eleven position
classifications. The top five grades (seven through eleven) were
"special grade officers"--the elite of the civilian wing of the
bureaucracy. Entry level for college graduates was grade two,
and, for those with master's degrees, grade three. Ordinarily,
the district officer was either grade five or six, and the
district section head was grade three. The provincial governor,
deputy governors, and assistant governors were special grade
officials, as were mid- to top-level managerial officers of the
central ministries. Provincial section chiefs were grade four.
An informative study by Thai political scientist Likhit
Dhiravegin revealed that as of 1977 the Ministry of Interior had
the largest bloc of special and first grade officials (29 percent
and 26 percent, respectively) because of its role as the backbone
of the country's far-flung administrative system. This study
indicated that the administrative service continued to be
elitist, dominated by families of government officials and
businessmen. In 1977, although these families accounted for only
10 percent (1 percent and 9 percent, respectively) of the
national population, they claimed 41 percent and 33 percent,
respectively, of the special grade category and 31 percent and 27
percent, respectively, of the first grade category. This meant
that these families produced a combined total of 74 percent of
the special grade officers and 58 percent of the first grade
functionaries.
Geographically, a strong bias favored the Center (including
Bangkok), which had 32 percent of the total population but had 68
percent and 63 percent, respectively, of the special and first
grade officers assigned there; Bangkok alone had 39 percent and
33 percent of these two categories. In terms of male-female
ratio, of the special grade and first grade officers, only 11
percent and 23 percent, respectively, were women. Many of the
female officers were in the ministries of university affairs,
education, and public health. Likhit pointed out that,
insignificant as it might seem, the number of women in managerial
positions was impressively high when compared with other Asian
countries.
In terms of education, about 93 percent and 77 percent of the
civil servants in the special and first grade categories,
respectively, had college educations, which compared favorably
with other Asian countries such as Japan, the Republic of Korea
(South Korea), Singapore, and Burma. The Likhit study also showed
that 33 percent and 20 percent of the elite categories had
foreign training, the United States accounting for 71 percent and
78 percent and Britain for 11 percent and 9 percent. The BritishUnited States connection was attributable to Thailand's close
relationship with Britain before World War II and with the United
States since that time.
According to the Likhit study, foreign influence was least
evident in the ministries of interior, justice, and public
health--ministries that had the largest number of locally trained
civil service officials at the elite level. Most of the locally
trained senior judges, public prosecutors, lawyers, district
officers, and provincial governors were graduates of Thammasat
University. In the 1980s, several other Thai universities were
expected to have an increased share of graduates applying for
government service.
Civil service promotion was based on merit, but many
observers believed that favoritism was an important factor in
career advancement. A civil servant normally retired at age
sixty. In 1980, however, the law was changed to permit extension
of tenure up to age sixty-five in cases of extreme necessity for
the benefit of the country.
Data as of September 1987
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