Society

Hiring family riles highway ex-employees

By Yu Ran (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-06-07 07:29

WENZHOU, Zhejiang - Disciplinary authorities here have vowed to carry out a thorough investigation after an online post suggested people were hired by the city's highway administration based on family ties.

The post at 703804.com, a popular local website, said more than 60 relatives of senior officers were recruited at the Wenzhou highway administration, sparking heated discussion among netizens.

The first post on May 21 told how a former senior officer at the administration set such specific requirements - not only for professional skills, but also limits for height, age and other criteria - to ensure his daughter fit the position.

A list with names and positions of 36 relatives who currently work in leading sectors, including 12 with relationships to certain senior officers, was attached to the post.

"The netizen came to my office the day after he posted the topic and declared that he was just one of 42 former employees who had been waiting eight years for a new position to open up," said Huang Xuemin, one of three founders of online forum 703804.com.

The netizen claimed that their jobs were eliminated when a toll station was shut down in December 2003, and they were told to wait to be moved to other positions.

While the 42 were still waiting to be reassigned, the netizen found out that more than 60 people were recruited as formal employees - all relatives of either former or current senior officers, said Huang.

"The netizen asked me to delete the post two days ago after he gained enough attention from the public, and local authorities have promised them fair treatment and an answer to the issue," said Huang.

According to an announcement from the city's discipline inspection department on Sunday, there were illegal behaviors during the recruitment processes.

Apart from the highway administration, the city's human resource bureau and transportation bureau were criticized in the announcement.

An officer from the highway administration previously admitted that 11 staff members on the list are current employees but denied that their recruitment was faulty or illegal.

"It's a total coincidence that they are all relatives of senior officers in the highway administration," said Shan Qin, a senior officer in the highway administration on May 23.

To better deal with the issue, Wenzhou's discipline inspection commission also declared an investigation on those enrolled as formal employees since 2007 will be carried out.