The government is pushing forward with civil service reform by abolishing 11 positions and proceeding with workforce reductions and agency closures. Academics view this as a bitter pill that must be courageously swallowed to relieve fiscal burdens, advising adherence to essential duties and a comprehensive overhaul of the compensation system.
Regarding the government's plan to restructure and reform the Thai civil service system, previously, Deputy Prime Minister for Legal Affairs Pakorn Nilprapunt stated that there would be considerations to eliminate overlapping agencies as well as those that have failed evaluations for several years.
Most recently, on 11 Aug 2026, Pakorn revealed that the Cabinet approved the proposal from the Office of the Civil Service Commission (OCSC) to reform public sector workforce management. This comes as more than 73% of the national budget is spent on recurring expenses, most of which go to salaries, pensions, and civil servant welfare, leaving limited funds for investment and development. The OCSC has outlined four main measures:
Pakorn also said that initially, the plan aims to reduce over 30,000 positions and target lowering the proportion of the recurring budget to no more than 30%.
At the same time, there is a proposal to abolish non-essential support job lines that do not require civil service employment upon incumbents’ retirement, covering 11 job lines starting from fiscal year 2027 onward. These include:
1. Administrative clerks (specifically in central administrative agencies)
2. Public relations and dissemination staff
3. Communication operators
4. Audiovisual technicians
5. Library staff
6. Dredging technicians
7. Printing technicians
8. Photographers
9. Artistic technicians
10. Librarians (except in the Fine Arts Department, Ministry of Culture)
11. Announcers and news reporters
Thairath Online’s special news team discussed this issue with Dr. Nanarit Pisalyabut a senior academic expert in public policy and economics at the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI).
Dr. Nanarit pointed out that Thailand’s major challenge currently is the high fiscal burden, much of which comes from recurring civil servant expenses. Therefore, the government's move to reform the civil service system is seen as a positive starting point. Previous attempts often failed due to the difficulty and strong resistance involved.
Within academia, civil service reform has long been considered essential. The initial step is to determine the appropriate size of the "public sector" for Thailand, what scale it should have, and the overall budget it should use, basing decisions on "missions" —identifying which missions are necessary or unnecessary, and within necessary ones, whether digital technologies can substitute for human labor. “I want the focus to be on missions: what must a modern Thai state do, which agencies remain essential? This is a debatable issue that can be studied, perhaps not requiring full research but through forming commissions, ideally with stronger academic involvement and less political influence to prevent conflicts of interest.”
Regarding
"compensation," this is also critical. Studies should assess if pay and benefits are appropriate for the work performed. Excessive compensation ultimately forces staff cuts to balance budgets and does not guarantee attracting talented individuals, as evidenced by recent cheating scandals. Conversely, if compensation can be lowered, staff reductions might not be necessary. “Another issue is capability. Given the civil service exam cheating cases, how can we be sure that high welfare levels lead to competent appointments? Corruption persists, so this must be addressed for the system to progress.”
Dr. Nanarit believes that deciding which positions to abolish or change employment types requires studies or data collection on job performance efficiency and the extent of public service usage.
Regarding the 11 job lines slated for abolition upon retirements, some are due to changing human behavior over time, making these positions less necessary or suitable for digital technology substitution—for example, library services shifting online or reduced public use due to AI and online tools.
Meanwhile, some positions may not need to be filled by
"civil servants" but could be outsourced to the private sector or hired as non-civil service staff, such as permanent employees or government contractors, thus reducing civil servant welfare costs. “In any case, the public sector must be smaller. As we enter an aging society with a declining population, the adoption of digital and AI technologies points toward a leaner state. Overall, the public sector budget consumes around 17% of GDP and often exceeds that, limiting available funding.”
The Need to Boldly Pursue Continuous Policy
He recalled that during General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s government, which began with a coup and lasted eight years, policies to reduce the public workforce did not achieve much success. Now, the current elected government has a four-year term with uncertainty about its full tenure and must manage political support while facing inevitable opposition from some groups.
“If development and reform are to succeed, policies must be strict, but people will resist, leading to a populism trap. Ultimately, elected governments tend to appease everyone with free giveaways. To break this cycle, we need governments confident in their policies and believing in their long-term benefits.”
Simultaneously, intellectual efforts are necessary to foster understanding and recognition of the need for civil service reform, with academic sectors ready to provide support.
However, Dr. Nanarit highlights that the key challenge is confronting the
"bureaucratic state," where civil servants hold long-standing power regardless of government changes. “No matter the government, civil servants remain, and subordinates become superiors. This forms a strong power base that is difficult to challenge. Additionally, vested interests and corruption issues are deeply entwined, as civil servants are regulators and discretionary decision-makers, fueling corruption both overt and covert. I urge the government to boldly address these problems.”
Civil service reform cannot be time-bound to a few years; it must be a continuous, ongoing policy because the role of the modern state constantly evolves.
“The state faces new challenges daily. Society and technology continuously change. The government cannot pause or remain static; it must be agile.”