Al-Asad issues decree amending basic law of state employees

President Bashar al-Assad on Monday issued Legislative Decree No. 116 for 2011 on amending Article 8 of the Basic Law of State Employees No. 50 for 2004. According to the decree, the appointment in the first and second grade jobs will be done according to a competition, while appointment in the third, fourth and fifth grade jobs will be according to a test. The decree also stipulates for amending Article No. 10 of the law and Article 17 of the Labour Law No. 17 for 2010. The full text of the decree will be published in official dailies and is valid as of the date of publication. In a statement to SANA, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Dr. Radwan al-Habib said that the decree aims at giving more flexibility to public and private establishments in employment and limiting corruption in this regard.