Their Excellencies the Ministers:

The Civil Service Council gave final approval for granting gold medals to employees completing 20, 30 or 40 years of government service.

This matter has been under consideration for sane time. Many different recommendations and ideas were considered, concerning type of award, manner of presentation, future costs, etc. It was decided in the Council that the original plan to give gold medals and certificates, would be followed.

His Excellency the Prime Minister will present the forty year service awards. Ministers will present thirty year awards and, where appropriate, Under Secretaries will present twenty year awards, in ministry ceremonies.

The Civil Service Bureau was designated to coordinate the Ministry Planning of ceremonies to assure uniformity of procedures and scheduling among all concerned. Ministry Directors of Administration and Finance were given preliminary planning details in a regular meeting at the Civil Service Bureau. They know the numbers of employees involved and were requested to inform the Civil Service Bureau, whether or not ministry facilities were available, or whether they wanted the CSB to assist in locating a place to hold their ceremony. They were also informed that the Civil Service Council wanted all Ministries to conduct their awards ceremonies in a uniform manner:

Keeping costs to reasonable minimum.

Using government facilities.

Haloing ceremonies for awardees during the morning on a work day.

The medals have a special design with the State of Bahrain National Emblem on one side and either 20, 30, or 40 years recognition on the other side, along with the name of’ the employee engraved. The medals are in individual presentation boxes, of attractive suede finish, with the National Emblem and State of Bahrain lettering in gold on the inside lid. Special certificates have also been printed and are ready for the signature of the Minister.

The gold medals and certificates can be transferred from the Civil Service Bureau to Directors of Administration & Finance now. Each Ministry should designate one person as the Ministry coordinator responsible for collecting the medals and to be the key point of contact with CSB. The Ministry ceremonies should be planned to be completed within the next two months. Ministries are requested to inform the CSB of their established date. The CSB will coordinate with the Ministry of Information for planning appropriate press and television spot news coverage. Ministry coordinators can call the Incentive Awards Office, Mr. Abdulla Radi, Telephone No. 232626 Ex. 203 for further details and CSB assistance in the preparation of ministry plans.

This is a new program with large members of employees to get awards the first time. Much time and effort has been spent in the Ministries and the Civil Service Bureau in checking and verifying active service time, spelling of names and preparation of listing of the employees. In the future there will be fewer employees involved each year, and it will be a much quicker process. The initial group covers employees based on their length of service as of 31st December, 1982.

Certificates are printed for employees with 10 years of service. These will be provided for presentation by Directors in other than the formal ceremonies reserved for the twenty and thirty year groups. This is because of the large numbers, and the fact that employees with ten years service will get their awards in ceremony, when they reach twenty years.

Lastly, it is emphasized that the long service awards are to be treated as a government award, to foster pride in government service and improved productivity, for the benefit of all concerned. All supervisors and managers are to be encouraged to support the Civil Service Council’s decision to grant gold medals as the best form of lasting appreciation for highly valued, good, loyal and faithful years of work in the Civil Service of Bahrain.

The cooperation of everyone is appreciated, and needed, to make this program a success.

Isa Bin All Al Khalifa
Head of Civil Service