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Box 1 A brief description of the definition of posting and transfer

From: Posting and transfer: key to fostering trust in government health services

Posting and transfer (P&T) refers to the deployment and transfer of health care workers and administrators. These practices are regulated by the following:

 

• formal policies enshrined in public administration structures, such as a public service commission, under the executive branch (for example, the Indian Administrative Service)

 

• formal policies particular to the line ministry (MoH) and even to particular cadres. Some decisions, such as intra-district transfer, might be made at decentralized levels, while others, such as recruitment or termination, may be made at the central level

 

• practical norms (implicit, tacit norms) [1] relating to political patronage, nepotism, impunity, cronyism, compassion, gendered responsibilities of family caretaking, professional power, multiple accountabilities, etc.

 

P&T may be consistent with health worker wishes (for example, bribing a decision-maker to secure an urban post), or they may be inconsistent with these wishes (for example, transferring a poorly performing health worker to a remote rural area). One’s ability to negotiate a preferred outcome likely depends on one’s professional status, with some cadres enjoying more power than others.

 

Policies themselves (or the available space to circumvent policy) may be in turn shaped by multiple factors, including lobbying by professional associations/unions and competition among political parties seeking to curry favour with public employee constituencies.