'Iron rice bowls' losing favor

More future civil servants are now expected to trade in their ‘iron rice bowls’ – a metaphor for lifetime job security – and instead agree to work for the government on limited contracts. A recruitment plan announced for civil servants in Shanghai has opened up five jobs on fixed-term contracts, ranging from one to five years, at the city’s financial service office and other offices at the district level. Fixed-term contracts were first offered to civil servants in 2007 in Shanghai as well as in Shenzhen. Shanghai has now widened the program to encompass the entire city in an effort to attract talent that might otherwise not want to work in government organizations. China.org.cn reports that in Shenzhen, up to 70% of its 35,000 civil servants have been contract-based since 2007.