PS News International Archives

31 May, 2011
UNITED KINGDOM
Morale collapses in embattled PS
New research has found that the British Public Service is facing a critical loss of employees, with some 45 per cent of staff facing redundancy or actively seeking work in the private sector.
   Pay, career development and job security are all seen to be better in the private sector, resulting in a skills loss which is expected to affect the ability of the Public Service to deliver frontline services effectively.
   The Public Sector Survey 2011, conducted by a recruitment company, found that some public sector employers were struggling to recruit staff with the right skills to manage frontline services.
   Since last year’s comprehensive Spending Review, 18 per cent of PS employers said it was harder to attract skilled job candidates.
   More than 80 per cent of employers said uncertainty around job security was the primary factor stopping people looking for work in the PS, followed by changes to benefits (51 per cent) and scrutiny over pay (39 per cent).
   Headcount reduction schemes and cuts may be draining the public sector of its most valuable employees with 60 per cent of employers - and the same level of workers – believing that voluntary redundancy and early retirement schemes were leading to the loss of the best talent.
   More than 60 per cent of staff said they feared the public sector would be unable to attract the staff needed to manage the transformation and change ahead.
   Recruiting consultant, Andy Robling said the combination of pay scrutiny, fears around job security and critical media headlines meant a stigma had started to develop around public sector careers.
   “Many public sector workers are feeling demotivated, devalued and stuck in less challenging careers,” Mr Robling said.
   “The public sector needs to act now to address this before it is too late.”

31 May, 2011
NORTHERN IRELAND
Sick leave roster labelled unacceptable
Sickness rates in the Northern Ireland Public Service were costing taxpayers £22.9 million ($A35.5 million) a year, according to new research.
   Minister for Finance, Sammy Wilson hit out at Public Servants over the findings, saying their sickness rates were a “huge cost” that was unacceptable in a time of austerity.
   The figures showed that PS staff took an average of 11 days off a year, with the Department of Social Development returning the highest figures with its workers taking off 14 days a year.
   The report, which contained the figures for 2008/09, found that 50 per cent of staff took no sick days at all.
   Mr Wilson commended those who never took a day off sick and also pointed out that there had been a 30 per cent reduction in sickness rates.
   “But why should sickness go up on a Friday and Monday?” Mr Wilson asked.
   He condemned those who took sickness that was not genuine and cost the public purse.
   “We have to continue to press down on those individuals, we cannot tolerate this,” he said.
   “Why should one department have a rate two-and-a-half times bigger than another. Why should one age group be 60 per cent more likely to catch flu than another?”
   General Secretary of the Civil Service Union, Nipsa, Brian Campfield said there would always be a “small minority” who abused the system but this did not explain the sick figures.
   “Where people have more autonomy and more control over decision making and their work environment, they are less likely to be out sick,” he said.
   “People at the bottom suffer more stress. Women have a higher level of sickness and women are in the lower grades, predominantly,” he said.

31 May, 2011
KENYA
Integrity test uncovers corruption
A test for corruption on 151 workers in the Kenyan Public Service has found that 30 per cent either took bribes or had committed corruption-related offences.
   According to the Integrity Testing Program, some of those who failed the test were either charged in court or subjected to various administrative actions, including demotions and transfers.
   The test found the most affected Agencies to be from the Departments of Immigration, Police, City Council and Kenya Revenue Authority. Others were from the Kenya Power and Lighting Company and Department of Registration.
   The testing program reported that those who passed scrutiny had either declined to receive bribes or their results in the tests had been inconclusive.
   The report said that about 20 per cent of Public Servants were responsible for 80 per cent of the corruption or misconduct.
   Under the Integrity Testing Program, public officers are presented with random tests to check if they engage in corruption or not.
   According to the document, the acceptability rate of the integrity testing program currently stands at about 50 per cent.
   Half of the Government institutions already educated about the program said they had yet to implement it.
   “Some institutions still hold the misguided view that the integrity program implementation is the sole responsibility of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission,” the report said.

31 May, 2011
NEW ZEALAND
PS called on for
more savings
Further cuts to the New Zealand Public Service are in prospect after Departments were told to find nearly $NZ1 billion ($A750 million) in savings.
   The Government has asked for $NZ330 million ($A252 million) in cuts to administration costs with another $NZ650 million ($A495 million) to be found within existing budgets to cover KiwiSaver employer contributions that will no longer be Government-funded.
   The savings come on top of almost $4 billion (SA3 billion) in savings squeezed from the Public Service since the last election and the almost 2,000 jobs cut from the PS since December 2008.
   In a memo to staff, Head of the Internal Affairs Department, Brendon Boyle said he was not yet sure how many employees would be affected by the new round of saving.
   “But the savings per cent is large enough for me to predict that we will have to manage with fewer positions,” Mr Boyle said.
   “This can be through non-replacement, through slower recruitment or as a result of redundancies.
   A message from the Chief Executive of the Social Development Ministry, Peter Hughes to his staff was more encouraging however, saying the Department did not intend to repeat the organisation-wide restructure it carried out several years ago.
   National Secretary of the Public Service Association, Brenda Pilott said she feared thousands more jobs could go from the public sector.
   “Our view is that there’s been 2,000 jobs gone from the Public Service already and there’s the prospect of losing maybe a similar number over the next three years,” Ms Pilott said.
   Offices in smaller centres, such as the Inland Revenue service centre in Greymouth, have already been closed and there was also a proposal to close the Family Court in Waitakere.
   Between December 2008 and December 2010, full-time ‘core Government administration’ jobs were cut from 38,859 to 36,973 and of the positions remaining, 2,744 are vacant.
   The 10 biggest staff cuts were Inland Revenue 349, Health 325, Corrections 251, Social Development 238, State Services Commission 125, Education 87, Conservation 74, Tertiary Education Commission 65, Maori Development (Te Puni Kokiri) 64 and Fisheries 53.

31 May, 2011
SWAZILAND
Call to fund redundancy scheme
A major Public Service union in Swaziland wants the Government to make good on its promise to fund the Enhanced Voluntary Early Retirement Scheme (EVERS).
   Secretary General of the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU), Vincent Dlamini said the Government had shown poor leadership by announcing EVERS then saying there was no money for it.
   He called on the Government to find the SZL168 million ($A23 million) required.
   “How did they plan to finance EVERS?” Mr Dlamini asked.
   “How do you announce a program that you then fail to implement?
   “From a management point of view, the Government leadership is disastrous.
   “The only thing they can do is look for the money to finance EVERS.”
   He said the money could be found by curbing corruption within Government, cutting down on employment in the security forces and scrapping politicians’ allowances.
   He said Public Servants had not received formal communication from the Government on the non-availability of money for EVERS except to read about it in the newspapers.
   Minister for Public Service, Mtiti Fakudze said there were a number of Public Servants who had indicated interest in the package. .
   “At first, when it was VERS, it was not attractive but once I added the ‘Enhanced’ Public Servants now want it,” Mr Fakudze said.
   EVERS is one major move aimed at reducing Swaziland’s Public Service by 20 per cent as part of the Fiscal Adjustment Roadmap laid out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
   Mr Fakudze confirmed that the only thing stopping a roll-out of the scheme was lack of money.
   He said it should be made clear that EVERS did not come from the IMF but was a government initiative which the IMF approved after studying it.

31 May, 2011
MALAYSIA (Sarawak)
‘Little Napoleons’
under fire
A State Government Minister has criticised what he calls the “Little Napoleons” in the Public Service, saying they should be “dealt with”.
   Second Minister of Finance, Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh was especially critical of workers in the Public Service Department (PSD) who were processing student scholarship applications.
   “These officers must be given disciplinary action or be transferred to other Departments,” Dato Sri Wong said.
   His comments follow a raft of complaints and accusations from students, and parents about discrepancies in the distribution of PSD scholarships to deserving students.
   The problems included irregularities, unfair treatment, wrong choice of course given to students and officers appearing to have tampered with the selection process and not followed official guidelines.
   Dato Sri Wong said he had assisted 112 appeals last year of which 37 were successfully offered scholarships. This year he had supported 84 cases.
   He said irregularities arose because apart from the general acceptance criteria encompassing 8A+ students and above, there were other categories included in the total 1,500 PSD scholarships allocated which were 300 based on academic results; 900 on racial composition; 150 as special consideration for East Malaysian students and the remaining 150 for the so-called “needy group”.
   “Because of these different categories, different interpretations surface and it ends up that it’s not always the best students who get scholarships,” Dato Sri Wong said.
   He urged the PSD to be transparent and select students based on merit, following the guidelines determined by the Cabinet.
   Then, he said, there would be less irregularity.

31 May, 2011
MALAYSIA
Hiring freeze ordered
A three-month total hiring freeze for the Malaysian Public Service, has been ordered to begin on 1 June.
   Director General of the Public Service, Datuk Seri Abu Bakar Abdullah said the freeze decision of the Cabinet Committee on Employment and Salaries in the Civil Service was in line with plans to rationalise the Service.
   “Apart from rationalising the Public Service, the aim is also to create a leaner workforce,” Datuk Sere Abu Bakar said.
   There are currently some 1.2 million employees in the Public Service.
   He said job candidates who had been called for interviews before the directive would still be considered for positions.
   “It is my hope that Ministries and Agencies would not be submitting requests for restructuring or to recruit staff during the three-month period.”
   He said the Public Service Department would audit all Government Departments and Agencies to ensure they had sufficient staff.
   Cuepacs, the umbrella organisation for unions in the Public Service, said it agreed with the decision to freeze the intake for three months but said existing vacancies should be filled.
   “We should fill these vacancies,” the union said in a statement.
   “We need the present number of employees to serve the country’s 27 million population.”
   Cuepacs estimated the Public Service needed an additional 100,000 employees.

31 May, 2011
PAKISTAN
Bid to replace perks
with cash
Cash payments to senior Government officers in Pakistan are to replace free housing, transport and utility entitlements under planned reforms to the Public Service.
   A former Public Servant, Javed Hasan Aly has been hired to advise on governance and public policy under a newly-designed Promoting Professional Excellence Project.
   The Planning Commission said perks and privileges of officers in Grade 20 and above cost Rs6 billion ($A5 million) a year.
   The National Commission on Government Reforms (NCGR) has already proposed a 50 per cent increase in salaries in three years in lieu of simultaneous withdrawal of perks and privileges.
   The Government approved the rise but did not touch proposals relating to withdrawal of perks.
   Mr Aly said the governance deficit in Pakistan had degenerated into a malaise whose cure should be one of the most urgent concerns for the government.
   He said the alternative was an irredeemable loss of choices for survival and sustainability at an acceptable level.
   “The ploy of brinkmanship shall soon be a non-option as we are now precariously poised on the brink of an abyss, glaring into the deep crevices of an oblivion of a performing State,” Mr Aly said.
   He identified issues including a breakdown of discipline and order in governance practices, lack of continuity in forms of dispensation of government, weakened and eroded State institutions resulting from a weak and unproductive Public Service, a languishing and primitive criminal justice system, uncertain politics and politicians and the lack of enforcement and compliance of laws, regulations, rules and an accountability processes.

31 May, 2011
KENYA
Restructure not to cost
PS jobs
Public Servants in Kenya have been told they are to be moved around the country but not out of the Public Service as the PS gears up for a new administration structure based on provincial counties.
   Head of the Public Service, Francis Muthaura said some 200,000 Public Servants would be moved in the change.
   “The Bill on devolution will set up structures on how the process is to be conducted and there will be no one let go,” Mr Muthaura said.
   His assurance came as a relief to thousands of workers after the Public Service Commission (PSC) had suggested that the Government may be forced to let go of some of its employees.
   The restructuring is expected to affect workers in parastatals, Local Authorities and Government Ministries as the 47 counties become functional under the new Constitution. The new counties will be charged with the implementation of policies formulated by the Government.
   Meanwhile, Prime Minister, Raila Odinga has challenged Public Servants to live up to the expectation that they are the force that will determine whether Kenya takes off economically or fails.
   Mr Odinga said the Public Service was to a country, what the engine was to a train saying the country would certainly stall if the Public Service was underperforming.
   “A country is as efficient as its Public Service,” Mr Odinga said.
   “Everyone, including the private sector, depends on the Public Service.
   “If the Public Service is inefficient and slow, the private sector will follow suit and the economy will not grow.”

31 May, 2011
UNITED KINGDOM
Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union are voting in a national strike ballot over cuts to pensions, jobs and pay. The ballot closes on 15 June, with the first action possible later that month.
   The union is working closely with education unions who are also balloting over pensions or have already voted and taken strike action, bringing the total considering industrial action to 750,000 union members.
   Hundreds of thousands of public sector jobs are threatened, pay is being frozen or set below inflation and the Government has made it clear it will implement Lord Hutton’s proposals on public sector pensions, meaning Public Servants will pay more and work longer for a lower pension.

BOTSWANA
A Public Service strike which was originally to last 10 days has entered its second month.
   The strike is also turning violent with riots leading to injury and the destruction of property.
   The Botswana Law Society said that it was concerned about reports of arrests, detention and questioning of minors despite repeated protests by parents, guardians and other interested parties.

HONG KONG
A union wants Public Service junior staff to be given the same percentage pay rise as middle-ranked Officers.
   The Pay Trend Survey Committee had said earlier that Public Servants in the upper, middle and lower salary bands could expect pay rises of 7.24 per cent, 6.16 per cent, and 5.16 per cent respectively.
   However, the Immigration Service Officers Association said the 5.16 per cent for the lower band would be eaten up by inflation.

CAYMAN ISLANDS
An expansion of on-line and e-services will make the Cayman Islands Government more efficient, it believes.
   It also feels the use of information technology would be a cost-cutting solution for delivering services and information to the public.
   Public Servants will be offered ‘blended e-learning’ to provide them with targeted, accredited training and qualifications through the Civil Service College, in partnership with top universities.

NEPAL
A nine-member group of Nepalese Public Servants have successfully climbed Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain.
   Chief Secretary to the Public Service, Madhav Prasad Ghimire congratulated the group and described the success as a matter of glory for the Nepalese Public Service.
   He expressed the hope that Public Servants would continue such constructive activities in the future.

24 May, 2011
GREECE
Mass sackings on the cards
The Greek Government is on the verge of sacking 130,000 Public Servants to satisfy demands from international financiers.
   The decision was one of the few concrete measures to come out of a meeting of Euro Zone Ministers of Finance in Brussels that discussed how Greece’s debt crisis should be dealt with.
   While the Ministers, including Greece’s Giorgos Papaconstantinou, could not settle on an overall plan, the country’s Minister for the Interior, Yiannis Ragousis indicated that thousands of Public Servants could be sacked during forthcoming Departmental transfers.
   The Government has so far resisted calls from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to dismiss about 30 per cent of the Public Service, instead saying that it would gradually reduce the number of employees by hiring only one candidate to replace every five who left.
   This looks set to change however with Mr Ragousis announcing the transfer of 130,000 Public Servants to other Departments at which time each one would be evaluated by the Supreme Council for Personnel Selection (ASEP) and any deemed “not worthy of working in the public sector” would be sacked.
   The financiers are concerned that the Government may not be able to make the €26 billion ($A35 billion) in savings it has budgeted for by 2015.
   €6 billion ($8 billion) of the cuts will have to come this year, the lenders have told the Government.

24 May, 2011
UNITED KINGDOM
PS strikes looming over pension cuts
The largest union in the British Public Service is to vote on taking strike action over changes to the PS pension scheme.
   The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which represents 250,000 Public Servants, voted at its annual meeting to poll the membership for a possible walkout on 30 June.
   The move raises the possibility of coordinated action with teaching unions and university lecturers.
   The disputes follow the Government’s acceptance of the Hutton Report, which recommended higher pension contributions for the Public Service, later retirement ages and an end to basing pensions on final salary in favour of a career average model.
   General Secretary of PCS, Mark Serwotka said in a speech to the union’s Brighton conference that the coming year would be one of the most challenging for the trade union movement, and public sector trade unions in particular.
   “The Coalition Government will seek to make the public sector and its workforce pay for the crisis through cuts to jobs, services, pay and pensions,” Mr Serwotka said.
   “We will need to be creative in our campaigning, tough in our bargaining, and prepared to take action.
   “We will continue to work, and build links with, other trade unions to make our voice as powerful as possible in our campaigning and in any industrial action.”
   The PCS leader is planning to sign a working agreement with the country’s largest Union, Unite, which represents 1.5 million workers.
   Some lawyers have argued that a coordinated strike might be ruled illegal if it is judged to be taking place for political reasons rather than as a specific trade dispute.

24 May, 2011
UNITED STATES
PS pension contributions on hold
The US Treasury has suspended payments into Public Service pension funds to free up money to pay Government bills.
   Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner declared a “debt issuance suspension period”, to last until 2 August, for the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund and the Government Securities Fund.
   Mr Geithner said this would allow Treasury to redeem a portion of existing Treasury securities held by the funds as investments. The move would free up about $147 billion (A$138 billion) in headroom under the debt ceiling of just over $14 trillion ($A13.1 trillion)
   Mr Geithner also suspended the daily reinvestment of Treasury securities held as investments by the Government Securities Investment Fund of the Federal Employees’ Retirement System Thrift Savings Plan.
   Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets at the Treasury, Mary J. Miller said the US would sell other assets in an orderly, “well-telegraphed” manner, not in a fire sale atmosphere accelerated by the fact that the nation had reached its debt ceiling.
   “It would be bad for the taxpayers. It would be bad for the markets,” Ms Miller said.
   “And even if Treasury were to sell off assets it would not eliminate the immediate need for Congress to raise the debt limit.”
   She said the US borrowed around $118 billion ($A110 billion) each month, so the sale of Federal assets would only fund the deficit for a very limited period.
   Mr Geithner was continuing to urge Congress to raise the debt limit in a timely manner in order to “uphold the full faith and credit of the United States”.

24 May, 2011
BOTSWANA
Defiant PS strikers sacked
Essential services staff taking part in a protracted Public Service strike in Botswana have been sacked.
   The decision to dismiss the strikers was taken by Cabinet at a recent emergency meeting to review the aftermath of the continuing strike.
   Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mokgweetsi Masisi said all essential service workers had been warned many times to return to their work stations after a court order instructed them to do so.
   “The affected employees were nowhere to be found, therefore we could not give each of the affected employees letters summoning them back to work, therefore we decided to use the media,” Mr Masisi said.
   Notification had been sent to the union concerning the latest development.
   “I cannot confirm the numbers of those who have been dismissed; it is also still early to talk about how we are going to replace the dismissed employees,” he said.
   “We are governed by the law. At times the law also doesn’t favour us, but we abide by it.”
   Publicity Secretary of the Botswana Federations of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU), Goretetse Kekgonegile said the Federation was still waiting for notification from the employer that the workers had been sacked. He dismissed the Government’s decision, saying Public Servants cannot be fired through the media.
   “Our understanding of the law is that no employee can be dismissed before there is a disciplinary hearing,” Mr Kekgonegile said.
   “That is contrary to our laws; but if the parliament recently met to change the laws, we are still to find out.”

24 May, 2011
NEW ZEALAND
Agencies to pick up pension bill
Departments and Agencies in New Zealand are to become responsible for meeting their own employer superannuation contributions under a new, decentralised funding system.
   Until now, the payments have been made on their behalf by the State Services Commission (SSC).
   For the 2011-12 year the SSC is to allocate $95 million ($A70.5 million) to the KiwiSaver scheme and $105 million ($A78 million) to the State sector scheme, money the Departments will have to scrape together from their existing budgets in the future.
   Minister for Finance, Bill English said the change would save $650 million ($A482 million) over three years, with the money going to improve frontline public services.
   “The Government is requiring State Service Agencies to fund their own employer contributions to workplace savings schemes,” Mr English said, “putting them on the same footing as other employers and improving the incentives for them to fully assess the cost of employment decisions.”
   He said a further $330 million ($A245 million) would also be saved by cutting back core Government administration from 31 Agencies.
   “Data collected for 33 Government Agencies, including many in the core Public Service, showed they spend about $1.8 billion a year on administrative and support functions,” Mr English said.
   National Secretary of the Public Service Association, Brenda Pilott said the idea money could be found by squeezing back offices was fiction.
   “There’s been two years of squeezing the so-called back office, and we’ve seen 2,000 job cuts during that time and so the idea that we’re going to find another $330 million without there being service cuts, I simply don’t believe,” Ms Pilott said.

24 May, 2011
MALAYSIA
PS blamed for scholarship chaos
Public Servants failing to follow directions have been blamed for an embarrassing PS graduate scholarship shemozzle in Malaysia.
   Youth Chief of the Malaysian Chinese Association, Datuk Wee Ka Siong said the Association had received thousands of complaints from distraught students who had either failed to secure a scholarship, were offered scholarships for courses they did not apply for or were given scholarships for diplomas or matriculation courses.
   Mr Wee said many of the affected students were those who scored top marks in the last Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination.
   He said students also found out their counterparts with lesser results were offered PSD scholarships to study at overseas universities.
   In describing the Public Service Department’s handling of the matter as its “worst ever”, Mr Wee said this showed the Department had not followed Cabinet’s directive.
   “I don’t know which officer made such decisions,” Mr Wee said.
   “The policy is clear. So, why can’t they implement it?
   “This should not happen at all ... it’s such a big blunder.”
   He said Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had announced recently that all 8A+ and above SPM achievers would receive Departmental scholarships, regardless of their financial or racial status.
   Most of the affected students scored 11A+.
   Mr Wee warned that if the matter was not resolved soon, the nation would lose talented people to other countries.
   “Don’t tell me we have to lose them to neighbouring countries,” he said.”
   “Don’t push the students into a corner, please.”

24 May, 2011
UNITED KINGDOM
New ID industry for online services
A new industry of ‘identity assurance’ is expected to spring up in the United Kingdom to support plans by the Government to move more public services online.
   The intention is to create a market of private sector identity assurance services, allowing the public to choose the provider of their choice to prove their identity when accessing a public service.
   Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude said the plans followed the Government’s drive to move a substantial number of public services to online-only.
   “Online services have the potential to make life more convenient for service users as well as delivering cost savings,” Mr Maude said.
   “However, currently customers have to enter multiple log-in details and passwords to access different public services, sometimes on the same website.
   “This involves significant duplication, is expensive to operate and is highly inconvenient for users.”
   He said it acted as a deterrent to people switching to digital channels, hampered the vision of digital being the primary channel for accessing Government information and transactions, and provided an opportunity for fraudsters.
   The Cabinet Office will lead the project to develop the market for identity assurance services and expects to have a first prototype model by October, with a date for implementation from August 2012.
   But a spokesman for the campaign group No2ID, Michael Parker warned the system should not turn into ID cards by another name.
   “There’s no reason this couldn’t turn into ID cards mark two,” Mr Parker said.
   “There must be clear laws limiting the powers of Government Departments from compiling huge databases on people and sharing private information with each other,” he said.

24 May, 2011
HONG KONG
Biggest payrises for senior staff
The highest paid staff in the Hong Kong Public Service are in line for the biggest pay increases under a new plan based on a salary survey by an independent committee.
   The Pay Trend Survey, conducted over 12 months from April last year, showed Public Servants in the upper, middle and lower salary bands could expect increases of 7.24 per cent, 6.16 per cent and 5.16 per cent, respectively.
   In 1997-98, those in the upper band received a pay boost of 6.9 per cent while the middle and lower bands received 6.81 and 6.38 per cent, respectively.
   Public Service unions have generally welcomed the survey findings, with Vice Chairman of the Senior Government Officers Association, Philip Kwok Chi-tak saying the figures were acceptable since they exceeded the inflation rate of about 4.8 per cent.
   “I believe this will be a good year for our colleagues since they were not satisfied with the pay changes in the past few years,” Mr Kwok said.
   “Staff morale may improve.”
   Representative of the Disciplined Services Consultative Council, Ngai Sik-shui, said the figures fulfilled the staff’s expectations and would boost morale.
   But some people were shocked, saying the pay rises were much higher than in the private sector.
   “It’s too much, and it should not exceed four per cent,” one commentator said in an online discussion forum.
   “Public Servants are getting pay much higher than the market rate,” another said.
   “If they get a big pay rise again, it will widen the gap.”
   The Pay Trend Survey Committee met Public Service unions to release the findings with Alternate Chairman, Barry Cheung Chun-yuen saying they would be passed on to the Government as a reference.
   The unions will now make a pay claim based on the findings.

24 May, 2011
BAHAMAS
Pay freeze eases as election looms
The Government of the Bahamas plans to lift its freeze on pay increases and promotions in the Public Service as the country prepares for a general election.
   However, the Government has stopped short of committing to an across-the-board salary increase for the public sector due to continuing financial constraints.
   Head of the Bahamas Public Service Union, John Pinder met Prime Minister, Hubert Ingraham to discuss the deal ahead of the Budget which will be presented to the House of Assembly this week.
   This will be the last Budget before the next General Election, and Mr Pinder expects tight fiscal policies will be relaxed before voters head to the polls.
   “We have a bit of good news, but not exactly what we wanted to hear,” Mr Pinder said.
   “The decision is being made to lift the freeze on promotions and to restore increments and he [Mr Ingraham] is also advising that they will open the salary scale.
   “However, the increments and the promotions do not affect the whole Public Service, we want a general increase regardless of how small it would be.”
   He said he believed the Prime Minister would do the best he could as he did not want a dissatisfied Public Service going into a General Election.
   The union said about 25 to 30 per cent of Public Servants were either eligible for a promotion or at the top of their salary scale, while another 35 to 45 per cent were due for salary increases.

24 May, 2011
NEW ZEALAND
Public Service spending will be cut and State -owned assets privatised to cover the costs of the recent earthquakes according the New Zealand Minister for Finance, Bill English.
   Mr English revealed that damage from the earthquakes in September and February was $15 billion ($A11.8 billion), equivalent to eight per cent of New Zealand’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
   He said in comparison, Japan’s earthquake and tsunami disaster was estimated to cost between three and five per cent of its GDP.
   He said the Government would also have to halve its contribution to retirement savings schemes while increasing the amount that workers and employers had to pay.

FRANCE
Strikes against the Government’s plans to freeze wages for Public Servants in 2012 now seem highly likely.
   Unions representing 5.2 million Public Servants say another lean year is too much after a nil increase in 2011 and a 0.5 per cent increase in 2010.
   The French Bureau of Statistics has calculated the rate of inflation at close to two per cent.

NIGERIA (Ondo)
The Governor of the State of Ondo, Olusegun Mimiko wants to make his Public Service the best in the nation.
   Mr Mimiko shared his ambition for the PS at a forum to discuss more efficient service delivery from the State’s Public Service.
   He said that within the last two years, his administration had restructured the Public Service through training and re-training and motivational sessions.

IRELAND
Some Agencies in the public sector have so far been unable to meet official requirements that they reduce their staffing levels.
   Most are on track to meet the new limits on employment levels in the Public Service however.
   The Department of Finance said that at the end of March the number employed in the Public Service stood at 36,285 – just 85 above the target for the end of the year. However, the Agencies, at 11,875 employees, were nearly 900 above their end-of-year target.

EUROPEAN UNION
If public sector entrepreneurship is encouraged, the European Union could boost its economy by €1.2 trillion ($A1.6 trillion) according to a new report.
   The responsibility lies with the different policies of member Governments.
   The report” Government of the Future Centre, claims that in the next decade, 15 million new jobs could be created and an extra eight per cent growth achieved across Europe over and above current predictions.
   The public sector represents half of Europe’s Gross Domestic Product, and public procurement budgets make up 17 per cent of GDP.

17 May, 2011
UNITED KINGDOM
Staff react to 66% job cuts
Staff at the United Kingdom’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) have walked off the job in protest against staffing and expenditure cuts of 66 per cent and more.
   They say they are in a continuous battle against cuts.
   Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union formed a picket line outside EHRC offices in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow.
   Senior management at EHRC want to make a 68 per cent cut to the budget and a 66 per cent cut to staffing, which staff say will be devastating to the service the EHRC provides.
   One striker in London said that while Britain pretended to be socially advanced, it was cutting the one body that fought for people with disabilities and other vulnerable members of society.
   “(Prime Minister) David Cameron and others don’t need anyone to defend them,” the striker said.
   “We are working for those who don’t usually have a voice.
   “If we go, who’s going to be there to defend them?”
   Another striker said that people were on the picket line who didn’t take part in the last strike.
   “We will be planning the next stages this week,” the second striker said.
   The union plans to escalate the level of future action to increase the pressure on management.

17 May, 2011
NIGERIA
Row over biggest wasters
The Nigerian Public Service has been caught up in a brawl over who wastes more of the taxpayers’ money – the PS or the Parliament.
   Deputy Leader, in the Senate, Victor Ndoma-Egba said it was the Public Service, criticising claims by Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi that the National Assembly took home a greater part of the nation’s income.
   “I do not think that the National Assembly is consuming the wealth of this nation more than any other group,” Mr Ndoma-Egba said.
   “Check the parastatals, main Civil Service and Local Government Councils,” he said. “They consume more.”
   He said every office had overhead costs.
   “When you add these together every month, you discover that Civil Servants consume more of the nation’s resources.”
   Mr Ndoma-Egba said the high rate of attrition in the National Assembly after the last election was affecting robust legislation as fresh law-makers found it difficult to catch up with their older colleagues on thorny issues.
   He recommended that senators be allowed to spend more years at the National Assembly to gain experience in law-making for the good of the country, as having a new crop of senators every four years negatively impacted on administration at the Federal level.
   He said that although Parliamentary bodies the world over were bolstered by the equality of their members, irrespective of the spread of their constituencies, the experience of older members is what kept that arm of Government moving so that it did not fall short of expectations nor become a rubber stamp for the executive.

17 May, 2011
CANADA
Union slams ‘toxic’ workplaces
A link between Canadian Public Servants taking disability leave and continuing harassment in the Public Service has been asserted by the primary union for Federal PS workers, the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
   Vice President of the Alliance, Patty Ducharme said the number of claims lodged with the Federal Disability Insurance plan relating to mental health conditions had doubled to 1,211 in 2009 from 602 in 1991, and now made up more than 44 per cent of all approved Federal disability claims.
   The 2008 Public Service Employee Survey found 31 per cent of women and 25 per cent of men had reported incidents of harassment in the previous two years.
   Ms Ducharme said there was a correlation between the two findings and it should serve as a wake-up call to the Government.
   “It should deliver a very strong message to the employer that our workplaces are fraught with discrimination and harassment,” Ms Ducharme said.
   “Our workplaces are toxic and we need to find solutions.”
   She said that while unionised employees did have representation from labour lawyers when they had issues, most Public Servants remained reluctant to bring claims forward for fear of reprisal.
   A professional mediator who consults for the Federal Government, Ruth Sirman said harassment cases cost the Government in lost productivity when victims went on disability leave.
   Ms Ducharme said her union was developing an educational program for union members and managers.
   She said while there was more awareness of the issue of sexual harassment, other forms of harassment didn’t receive the same attention.

17 May, 2011
MALYSIA (Sarawak)
Women’s target missed
The Sarawak Public Service has failed to meet its target of senior female Public Servants by 30 per cent.
   Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department, Datin Fatimah Abdullah said the overall numbers represented just 15 per cent of the total. .
   “Based on grades, 36.7 per cent of women hold a Grade 41 level, which is an initial grade for degree holders. This percentage drops to 24.1 per cent for Grade 44 and 16.3 per cent for Grade 48,” Ms Abdullah said.
   “Total women sitting at Grade 52 and 54 levels are 19 per cent and 12.1 per cent respectively, while only 10 per cent are at the most senior grade.
   “Statistics show that we are still far from achieving 30 per cent of women in decision-making positions in the Public Service.”
   She said serious efforts were needed to increase the participation in decision-making positions.
   Opening the seminar, Sarawak Professional Women, Ms Abdullah said she hoped it would identify and highlight aspirations, issues and aspects to help women to be successful not only in their careers but also in their families and community.
   “This seminar will help the Council of Women and Family Sarawak identify strategies and action plans in improving women’s positions, especially working women,” she said.
   “Through these efforts, we will be able to think of new approaches to accelerate our journey towards the 30 per cent target.”

17 May, 2011
SRI LANKA
30,000 recruited to new class PS
A new class of Public Servant has been created in the Sri Lankan PS to accommodate 15,000 unemployed graduates and another 15,000 young appointees.
   The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal to establish a Sri Lanka Development Officers Service’ and a Sri Lanka Development Assistants’ Service, recruiting 30,000 new staff.
   A Government statement said the move would fulfill a promise made by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to promote the development activities of the Government.
   The Assistants Service will mostly include young people straight from school and both forms of recruitment will begin on 1 August.
   Critics say the Public Service is already hugely overstaffed and inefficient, its ranks swollen by Government recruitment of the two major political parties in order to win votes.
   State workers in Sri Lanka account for more than half the nation’s tax revenues which are paid out as PS salaries and wages.
   Until recently, Public Servants did not pay income tax on their salaries but that was changed in this year’s Budget.
   The statement announcing the new recruitments categories did not reveal how much it would cost the taxpayer. It comes after the continual expansion of State worker numbers since 2004 flattened out in 2010.
   Total PS staff fell slightly to 1,299,102 in 2010, down just 1.1 per cent from 1,313,584 in 2009, according to Government data.

17 May, 2011
INDIA (Kashmir)
Unrest impacts on PS recruitment
Civil unrest in Kashmir over recent years has been blamed for candidates from the area doing poorly in entrance examinations for the Indian and Kashmiri Public Services.
   Chairman of one of the colleges and test centres, Ghulam Nabi Var claimed that “powerful people” were trying to reduce the number of Kashmiri students in the Public Service.
   “In 2003 and 2005 only 27 Kashmiri students were selected each year while as in 2009 the number suddenly rose to 143 in the Kashmir Administrative Service exams,” Mr Var said.
   “Some years back the whole system was dominated by few lobbyists who did not want Kashmiris to excel in the field of Civil Services.”
   He alleged that ‘bureaucrats’ were responsible for the flawed selection system and claimed that they purposefully managed the system “in such a way which benefits their peers only”.
   Referring to the summer unrest of 2010, Mr Var said the anger and resentment of people had made the Government re-evaluate its flawed and corrupt system.
   He also called for Kashmiri students entering either the Indian or Kashmir Public Services not to be politicised.
   “Nowadays we are seeing Indian media displaying results of Kashmiri people entering the Indian Public Service and publicising it as an effort of Kashmiri people to enter the mainstream,” he said.
   “This is a wrong picture they are trying to portray.”
   He said the dedication of Kashmiri people was purely for their career and not because of political aspirations.

17 May, 2011
UNITED KINGDOM
New guide for mutualisation
A new guide on establishing ‘mutuals’ to take services out of the UK Public Service has been released to assist the staff involved make the transition.
   Published by the national trade body for co-operative enterprises, Co-operatives UK and social enterprise group, Mutual Ventures, the guide reflects the journey that staff will embark on - from learning about the benefits and risks of ‘spinning out’ to taking practical steps to set up an independent enterprise.
   Welcoming the new publication, Chair of the Mutuals Task Force, Professor Julian Le Grand said he wanted to see one million people working in public interest mutuals by 2015 - around 15 per cent of the public sector workforce.
   “We foresee considerable interest emerging in models such as co-operatives and this guide is an excellent introduction for people working in the Public Service,” Professor Le Grand said.
   Easily accessible advice in the guide includes: Benefits and risks; Getting a team together; Deciding on business form; Defining services and resources; Financial planning; and Navigating public sector procurement.
   Secretary General of Co-operatives UK and a member of the Mutuals Task Force, Ed Mayo said the Government had ambitious targets for the number of public sector workers it wanted to see setting up co-operatives.
   “We need to ensure that they get high quality information so that the new businesses they set up are sustainable, well-run co-operatives that successfully unleash the talents and energies of their employees and users,” Mr Mayo said.

17 May, 2011
HONG KONG
Pay rise decision in balance
Public Servants in Hong Kong are waiting for the results of a salary survey to find out if they are to receive a six per cent pay rise or not.
   The Pay Trend Survey Committee, comprising Public Service Union representatives, has been briefed about the sampling of the survey.
   It has taken into account the pay adjustments of private companies since April last year and in making its decision, the Government will weigh up the state of the economy, its fiscal position and changes in the cost of living.
   PS morale will also be considered.
   The Secretary of Finance, John Tsang Chun-wah expects inflation to reach 4.5 per cent this year and despite speculation that any pay increase may not match that rate, Alternate Chair of the Committee, Barry Cheung Chun-yuen, refused to disclose the details.
   “There is a mechanism to determine what the pay increase should be,” Mr Cheung said.
   “You have to wait until the report.
   “We shouldn’t pass judgment before the report is finalised.”
   He said the atmosphere of the meeting was harmonious.
   “It was part of our effort to increase transparency and to finalise the selection of companies within the survey field,” he said.
   “Hopefully, by agreeing on the field, when the results come out, there will be no controversy surrounding the results.”
   More than 100 companies were polled for the survey, with about three-quarters of them having more than 100 employees.

17 May, 2011
KENYA
PS staff sent to counties
Public Servants in Kenya are to be reassigned to work in offices in the counties.
   The deployment, which is required under a new Constitution, is to begin after the start of the next financial year.
   It is a departure from the current situation where staff are deployed according to provinces and districts.
   The Government has introduced plans to retrain Public Servants in readiness for the new governance system.
   President Mwai Kibaki directed the immediate transformation of the Kenya Institute of Administration into the Kenya School of Government to carry out the preparatory work.
   “I expect the Ministry of State for Public Service to take the lead in making operational the Kenya School of Government,” President Kibaki said.
   “This is urgent if we are to avoid an administrative vacuum after elections.”
   A major responsibility of the Kenya School of Government is to induct Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Governors and other senior Government officials who will be appointed into the newly devolved Government.
   President Kibaki directed the Minister for Public Service, Dalmas Otieno to ensure there was a smooth transition of operations.
   He also called for the urgent implementation of the new Constitution to ensure operations of the new Government structures were not delayed.
   Confirming the imminent redeployment of staff, Permanent Secretary in the Public Service Ministry, Titus Ndambuki said a task force was already undertaking audits to determine the necessary staffing levels.

17 May, 2011
JAMAICA
At least 10,000 jobs are to be cut from the public sector over the next five years with a saving of up to $J50 billion ($A55 million).
   The last census found that 118,163 people were employed in the Public Service with a reduction to 108.000 planned.
   Staff reductions will come from natural attrition.

SWAZILAND
Swaziland’s Government may not have enough money to pay its Public Servants next month.
   Minister for Finance, Majozi Sithole said the Government was in financial strife.
   Government workers joined pro-democracy protests last month after Mr Sithole presented an austerity budget that called for freezing Public Service salaries for the next three years.

SOUTH KOREA
Restrictions have been placed on judges and prosecutors who retire from the Public Service to become lawyers in the private sector.
   From now on they will be unable to work on cases in the region they retired from for 12 months.
   The new law was drafted to address the criticism that legal practices had been compromised by former judges or prosecutors who take advantage of their influence over former colleagues and gain favour in cases.

INDIA (Kerala)
The Kerala State Civil Service Academy, which coaches aspirates to the Public Service, has registered an almost 50 per cent success rate with its students.
   Out of the 66 students who enrolled, 30 gained Public Service positions.
   There are 250 applications for the Academy’s next intake.

MALDIVES
The Government of the Maldives owes Rf443 million ($A27 million) to its Public Servants.
   The outstanding amount comprises unpaid salaries and allowances after salaries and allowances were fully restored last year.
   Previously the Government had not provided full salaries to Public Servants for 12 months.
   The High Court has ruled that the Finance Ministry does not have the power to order Government offices to prepare salary sheets providing the outstanding amounts.

10 May, 2011
GREECE
PS to work longer hours
The working week for Greek Public Servants is to be extended by 2.5 hours as the financially embattled nation attempts to get more value for its PS Euro.
   The Government announced it would change the law so that its staff would be required to work 40 hours a week rather than 37.5.
   Minister for the Interior, Yiannis Ragousis said it was an issue that fell well within the borders of commonsense.
   “There’s no question that we have to work more,” Mr Ragousis said.
   He said extending the PS working week would be the equivalent of hiring 45,000 new employees and would save €1 billion ($A1.40 billion) each year.
   “The 40-hour working week in the public sector is very important for the service we provide to citizens and for the economy,” Mr Ragousis said, “specially at this difficult time for the country.
   “I remind people that the 37.5-hour week was established in May 1981 but was never extended to the private sector.
   “We should not forget that private employees work at least 40 hours a week without the security of having a job for life.”
   The Government has also said it will only hire one Public Servant for every five who leave as part of a bid to reduce costs but there are expectations the figure might be raised to seven.
   By the end of the Government’s four-year term, Mr Ragousis said Greece would have 200,000 fewer Public Servants than the roughly 750,000 it has now.
   Likewise, the public sector wage bill would have shrunk by almost 30 per cent by 2013.

10 May, 2011
UNITED KINGDOM
Bid to create ‘mutuals’ premature
A review of plans to ‘mutualise’ some Government Agencies in the United Kingdom so they become cooperatives has revealed the country is not yet equipped to make the changeover.
   The establishment of the mutuals is a key element of the British Government’s Big Society initiative. Public sector staff are being encouraged to leave their employment to form various forms of social enterprises to sell their services back.
   Ambitious targets have been set for the number of PS workers willing to set up co-operatives, and predictions have been made that as many as a million, or one in six PS staff members, could be delivering public services in new mutual enterprises by 2015.
   The review, commissioned by Co-operatives UK, says the Government has not yet done enough to get the projects off the ground.
   It highlights how the UK must learn from the experiences of Spain, Italy and Sweden, where public service co-operatives are flourishing under a supportive environment and where the Government provides workers with appropriate business support and knowledge.
   The report’s author, Jonathan Bland said it showed that in all three countries, the growth of Public Service cooperatives had been closely linked to enabling legal and fiscal frameworks.
   “The UK is not yet equipped to make it happen,” Mr Bland said.
   “Understanding of the business models is limited and support is fragmented.
   “To date there has not been investment of sufficient resources,”
   Meanwhile, 43 per cent of respondents in a survey carried out for the Social Enterprise Coalition thought a community business that reinvested its profits to improve services, or a social enterprise were best placed to run public services. Central and Local Government followed on 36 per cent.
   Only four per cent thought private sector organisations would be best placed to deliver public services and three per cent chose charities.

10 May, 2011
UNITED STATES
PS praised in recognition week
The US Congress designated last week “Public Service Recognition Week” to encourage the community to value their Public Service more and, perhaps re-energise the PS to work better on behalf of the people.
   A statement from Congress noted that President Barak Obama had written to Federal workers after the Budget deal kept the Government functioning, thanking them for their patience and professionalism during a very trying time.
   “You do your jobs without complaint or much recognition,” President Obama wrote.
   “But it is men and women like you who help make America all it is, by responding to the needs of our people, and keeping our country safe and secure.”
   Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, praised Defense Department civilian employees last week during a leadership forum.
   “We wouldn’t be anywhere without the great Civil Service workforce that we have,” Admiral Mullen said.
   “Dedication and patriotism equals that of those of us in uniform.”
   Director of the National Weather Service, Jack Hayes said his employees were the epitome of not just good government, but great government.
   “These men and women are dedicated to protecting lives and property around the clock - even when threatened by extreme conditions themselves,” Mr Hayes said.
   At the Department of Veterans Affairs, Secretary, Eric K. Shinseki, Deputy Secretary, W. Scott Gould and other senior officials around the country shook hands with employees as they came to work.
   First Lady Michelle Obama also thanked Public Servants in a video message as part of the White House’s observance of Public Service Recognition Week.
   She said she had visited many Agencies around the country and was proud to honour the dedicated PS staff in Federal, State, County and Local Government who were working to move the country forward.

10 May, 2011
JAMAICA
War on tax cheats declared
The public of Jamaica has been urged to dob in tax cheats in a new scheme to raise much needed revenue for the Government.
   Tax Administration Jamaica has introduced a system to allow the public to confidentially call or mail in information on persons suspected of cheating on their tax.
   Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw said a Tax-Cheat toll-free phone line was introduced on 1 May.
   “I am inviting all well meaning, civic minded Jamaicans to report incidents of tax-cheats, and you won’t have to give your name,” Mr Shaw said.
   “These reports will be confidentially received and discreetly investigated by senior officers, similar to the successful Crime Stop Program.”
   He said this had become necessary to ensure that people paid their fair share of taxes. He said it was difficult for the Tax Administration to take on the task alone so the public’s support would be engaged to identify individuals and companies cheating the Government of tax revenue.
   “It is not fair for some persons, such as employed persons paying under the PAYE, system, to be burdened while others are not meeting their tax obligations,” Mr Shaw said.
   The Finance Minister insisted that if everyone paid their taxes, the Government would have more resources to meet the ever-growing needs for education, health and national security.

10 May, 2011
UNITED KINGDOM
Outsourcing plans scaled back
Plans to outsource major programs in the UK Public service are to be scaled back in the face of expected public opposition.
   A leaked record of a meeting between the Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), John Cridland and the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude.
   The meeting heard that the move to outsourcing would be politically unpalatable as the Government embarked on its efficiency drive to transform services and cut public spending.
   Ministers are said to favour the use of more charities, social enterprises and employee-owned “mutual” organisations to deliver public services, while private-sector involvement would be limited to joint ventures with not-for-profit groups.
   “The Minister’s messages were clear cut,” the record of meeting said.
   “The Government is committed to transforming services, but this would not be a return to the 1990s with wholesale outsourcing to the private sector – this would be unpalatable to the present administration.
   “The Government was not prepared to run the political risk of fully transferring services to the private sector with the result that they could be accused of being naive or allowing excess profit-making by private-sector firms.”
   A White Paper, Open Public Services, which is expected to detail Government plans, is due to be published later this month.
   A spokesman for the Prime Minister, David Cameron said the Government was never planning wholesale privatisation.

10 May, 2011
IRELAND
Senior pay to be reviewed
A review of pay levels for senior staff of the Irish Public Service has been announced by the Minister for Public Expenditure, Brendan Howlin.
   Details of the review were revealed in an answer to a question in Parliament.
   The answer was prepared by the Department of Finance in response to a question tabled from Independent MP, Shane Ross to Finance Minister, Michael Noonan.
   The Department declined to set out the grades which would be affected by the review, other than saying that they would be at a senior level, generally taken to mean Assistant Secretary and above.
   Unions representing non-senior PS staff have pointed out that the historic Croke Park Agreement guarantees payrates for their members until 2014.
   The country’s biggest Public Service union, Impact, said however that it accepted that all the reforms agreed to under the Croke Park deal had to be implemented if it was to succeed.
   “Controversial issues have yet to be implemented, like the standardisation of terms and conditions of employment within sectors,” a spokesperson for Impact said.
   The Government is also looking at the standardisation of leave arrangements across the Public Service following the failure of moves to reform entitlements to special ‘privilege days’.
   Impact has opposed moves by Local Authorities to introduce a standardised working week and leave arrangements.
   General Secretary of Impact, Shay Cody said Public Service numbers had fallen by 16,000 in the last two years, and that this was now generating annual savings of €900 million ($A1,241 million).

10 May, 2011
UNITED STATES
PS payrates included in review
The number of Federal Public Servants in the United States earning $180,000 or more a year ($A167,000) has risen from 800 in 2005 to almost 18,000 last year sparking calls to include PS pay scales in a spending revision planned for the coming weeks.
   The number of employees is about one per cent of the two million plus Federal workforce, but has led to calls from the Republican Members of Congress to include the pay scales in a review of possible spending cuts.
   Of the employees being paid at the rate, two-thirds are men and about 90 per cent are at least 40 years of age.
   About 80 per cent are doctors in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) including nearly 13,000 physicians. Observers have been vocal in pointing out cuts in that sensitive area would be political suicide.
   The number of visits to VHA facilities increased to more than 70 million last year as the number of service-related injuries jumped by 39 per cent since 1990.
   The National Institute of Health also employs about 579 doctors who research cures for all kinds of diseases.
   Lawyers were the next largest group of Federal Government workers earning at least $180,000 a year, nearly 600 of whom come from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
   The House of Representatives has already passed a Budget plan which calls for a 10 per cent cut in the Federal workforce within three years.
   But the Heritage Foundation points out the cuts will have to come in the middle income and skill level - where public salaries were often much higher than their private counterparts.

10 May, 2011
CANADA
Secret PS pay deal criticised
The Provincial Government of Ontario in Canada has been accused of entering a secret deal to award its Public Service a pay increase.
   The increase – one per cent for 2012 – was the subject of Question Time in the Provincial Parliament, with the Opposition accusing the Premier, Dalton McGuinty of doing anything to stay in power.
   The Opposition demanded to know how much taxpayers would be paying for the payrise which will apply to the 38,000 members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU).
   Minister for Finance, Dwight Duncan defended the deal, saying that the union members gave up termination pay and other benefits in exchange for the additional pay in 2012.
   The concessions, he said, more than offset the extra pay.
   He said in return for the one per cent, which was on top of a scheduled wage increase of two per cent for 2012, the union members gave up the right to bank overtime days and eliminated termination pay.
   He said those concessions saved taxpayers in Ontario 1.25 per cent a year.
   Mr Duncan told reporters the side deal was not disclosed because it was part of the confidential bargaining process.
   “The Government does need the ability to bargain,” Mr Duncan said.
   “Once you do this in public, your position is compromised.”
   He invited other public sector unions to renegotiate their contracts with the Government if they were also willing to make the same concessions as OPSEU.

10 May, 2011
PORTUGAL
Austerity cuts hit PS
Cuts to the Public Service and a freeze on State pensions are among the tough measures announced in Portugal following its €78 billion ($A108 billion) debt bailout.
   New airports and high-speed rail lines are also sacrificed in a package of austerity measures which includes cuts to health and education spending of €745 million ($A1 billion).
   Public Service staffing is to be squeezed by one per cent a year in Central Government, while regional administrations and town halls will be told to shed two per cent of their employees annually.
   The country will also carry out a fire sale of the nationalised Banco Português de Negócios (BPN).
   Portugal is expected to reduce public spending by 3.4 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product this year and raise an extra 1.7 per cent of GDP by raising taxes on cars, tobacco and electricity and getting rid of income and corporation tax loopholes.
   A detailed investigation of public-private partnerships (PPPs), which have been used for building hospitals, roads and rail lines, will be carried out to see if they are hiding extra Government debt. New PPP projects will be suspended.
   Areas that remain untouched include pensions for the worse-off and the retirement age.
   The country is facing a 5 June election after a similar package of austerity measures was rejected by Parliament in March.
   Polls show the opposition Social Democrat Party (PSD), which rejected the austerity package, may win the vote.

10 May, 2011
NIGERIA
Public Servants in Oyo State have pledged their loyalty to the Governor-elect, Senator Isiaka Abiola Ajimobi.
   They paid a congratulatory visit to him, in the company of Public Service Permanent Secretaries and Directors.
   Speaking on behalf of the workers, Head of Service, Alhaja Risikat Adeleke said that the Public Servants would work in tandem with the objectives of the Governor-elect in order to develop the State.

UNITED STATES
The US Postal Service was expected to continue as a vital Public Service Agency funded solely by postal customers for the foreseeable future.
   President of the American Postal Workers Union, Cliff Guffey said the Service needed immediate and short-term relief from the unique and unreasonable requirement that it pre-fund retiree health benefits.
   He stressed the need for legislative action, saying the measure was pushing the Agency towards insolvency.

TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS
The interim Government of the Caribbean Turks and Caicos Islands has highlighted a significant number of Public Service employees who were employed by the previous Government without going through the normal procedures.
   The Government believes normal processes were not followed and hundreds of new starters were added to the PS payroll for reasons yet to be explained.
   These were positions in which persons were currently employed and for which there were no budgeted allocations.
   The Government has resolved that positions falling outside the Budget allocation should be removed and the services of persons holding such positions ended with effect from 31 May.
   Employees being laid off however would receive six weeks’ notice.

BOTSWANA
Public Servants in Botswana have called an indefinite extension to a 10-day pay strike which has already wrought havoc in schools and hospitals.
   No agreement has been reached and it is unlikely one will be reached in the near future.
   Botswana’s Industrial Court has ordered health workers to return to the job, declaring the medical system an essential service, but at least some health workers have remained on strike, with reports that more than 40 doctors have refused to return to work.

INDONESIA
Contract teachers from various regions have taken part in a march in Jakarta in support of their demands for the same status as other Public Servants.
   The more than 500 teachers have three demands from the Government.
   These are: All contract teachers to be given Public Service status immediately; teachers to get their status without sitting a test; and teachers to gain the status without handing over money.

3 May, 2011
BAHRAIN
Sacking claims denied
The Head of Bahrain’s Public Service, Ahmad bin Zayed al-Zayed has denied claims that PS staff have been sacked for joining in democracy protests.
   The claims came from Bahraini opposition groups and human rights organisations who said hundreds of public employees had been dismissed.
   Mr al-Zayed said steps had been taken only against those who committed crimes during the protests.
   “Up to now, no one has been dismissed for disciplinary reasons,” Mr al-Zayed said.
   “I deny what is being said about the dismissal of a number of employees ... in positions under the umbrella of the Civil Service.”
   The claims further inflamed tensions between Bahrain’s Shi’ite Muslim majority and its Sunni Muslim ruling family, which has accused the predominantly Shi’ite Muslim neighbouring country of Iran of fomenting the protests in collusion with its Bahraini co-religionists.
   Bahrain’s Ministry of Health has sent the prosecutor the names of 30 employees suspended following protests for “acts which appear to constitute crimes”.
   It said 10 other employees who had been suspended would be allowed to return to work.
   Bahrain, which hosts the United States Fifth Fleet, also has a free trade pact with the US which is under threat of cancellation in light of the demonstrations in the country.

3 May, 2011
UNITED KINGDOM
Teachers urge strike for kids
Teachers in the United Kingdom have called for a 24-hour strike across the public sector in protest against cuts to children’s services.
   Delegates at the National Union of Teachers (NUT) conference claimed the most vulnerable children in society were being hit the hardest by cuts at the Local Council level.
   The union said these included closures of children’s centres and cuts to school support services.
   However, a Government spokeswoman said funding was targeted at the children and young people who needed it most.
   The union conference decided to work with other public sector unions in a concerted campaign against the cuts.
   Delegate, Phillip Clarke said it would mean demonstrations, industrial action and doing whatever was needed to make a 24-hour public sector general strike a possibility to begin the fight-back against the Government.
   Another delegate, Francesca Haimes who works in a children’s centre in East London, told how 200 years of combined teaching experience had been lost in a wave of cuts in centres in her area.
   Her team had been reduced from 15 to four and she questioned whether children’s centres were now a luxury that the Government had decided it could no longer afford.
   President of the NUT, Nina Franklin said members would have to take action to defend their jobs and the concept of a properly resourced, comprehensive education system.
   A spokeswoman for the Department for Education said Ministers had to make some difficult decisions to help tackle the national Budget deficit.
   “We have ensured there is enough money in the system to maintain a network of Sure Start children’s centres, protected and expanded the free entitlement to the most disadvantaged two-year-olds, and provided money for Local Authorities to provide short breaks for disabled children,” the spokeswoman said.

3 May, 2011
KENYA
PS health scheme is held up
Plans to introduce a generous health care scheme for Kenya’s Public Servants have stalled as two Cabinet Ministers tussle over who should be responsible for it.
   If the scheme is implemented in July, as scheduled, the lowest-ranked Public Servants would enjoy hospital cover of Sh500,000 ($A5,500) while senior staff insured for services costing up Sh2 million ($A22,000) annually.
   But the Ministers for Medical Services, Anyang’ Nyong’o and Public Service, Dalmas Otieno, cannot agree on the details of administering the scheme.
   Professor Nyong’o said it should be left to the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) but Mr Dalmas wants to see a competitive process among private sector health insurance schemes introduced from which the lowest and most promising bidder, would be awarded the tender.
   NHIF argued that any new scheme would lead to competition with private insurance companies and claimed that would mean increased medical costs for Kenyans.
   Professor Nyong’o said NHIF should be strengthened instead.
   “I am not opposed to the idea of Civil Servants having a medical scheme of their own but NHIF should be allowed to manage it,” Professor Nyong’o said.
   Mr Dalmas said he had never said NHIF should be sidelined and he was ready to accommodate the views by the Medical Services Minister and NHIF.
   “The new medical scheme for Civil Servants has not taken off. We are in the consultation stage,” Mr Dalmas said.

3 May, 2011
UGANDA
New pension scheme to cost workers
A new pension scheme for Uganda’s Public Service will see PS staff contributing five per cent of their salaries.
   Up to now they have contributed nothing.
   The Retirement Benefits Sector Liberalisation Bill 2011 seeks to remove the monopoly enjoyed by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and transform the existing non-contributory Public Service pension scheme into a contributory pension scheme.
   It also intends lowering the age at which a saver could access and utilise his or her money from 55 to 45 years.
   Until now Uganda’s pension sector has comprised the Public Service Pension Scheme, specifically for Public Servants, and the NSSF, which is responsible for the private sector.
   The public pension sector will be renamed the Unified Public Service Pension Scheme, guaranteed by the State and funded from taxes, while beneficiaries of NSSF savings will contribute five per cent from their wages with employers topping up with 10 per cent.
   The NSSF scheme targets organisations with five or more employees between 16 and 55 years of age.
   Proponents of the Bill say there was a wide public perception that the NSSF had not been run on sound governance principles.
   “This could have a negative effect on savings mobilisation.
   “It is, therefore, imperative that immediate action be taken to enact a law to reform and liberalise the retirement benefits sector,” they said.

3 May, 2011
ZIMBABWE
PS promises come to nothing
Government promises of pay rises and improved conditions for Public Servants in Zimbabwe have not been kept with the two main Ministers claiming the country can’t afford them.
   Minister for Finance, Tendai Biti said the Government did not have capacity to raise the PS salaries as promised.
   Minister for the Public Service, Eliphas Mukonoweshuro said the Government would also be unable to introduce promised non-monetary incentives because it was broke.
   Mr Mukonoweshuro had promised incentives such as a housing loan guarantee scheme, mobility scheme (revolving car loans) and a pension fund for Public Servants.
   However, he said the new plan was for some financial institutions agreeing to assist Public Servants with non-monetary incentives not guaranteed by the Government.
   Mr Mukonoweshuro said he had no doubt the loans would be made available to workers as soon as resources allowed.
   Mr Biti said a Public Service audit had unearthed the existence of 13,000 ghost workers who should be struck off the Government payroll.
   He said an additional 62,000 Government workers had been found to have unclear positions and their status in the Public Service needed to be verified.
   President Robert Mugabe had promised Public Servants a significant salary increase in June this year.
   President Mugabe said workers should expect an increase of about 100 per cent of the current earnings. The least-paid State worker is taking home about $US130 ($A119).
   There was no better news on the pension fund, with Chair of the Public Service Commission, Mariyawanda Nzuwa saying the Government had yet to establish the scheme.

3 May, 2011
NIGERIA
Housing boom for Public Servants
A plan to build 845,000 housing units for Nigeria’s Public Servants has been confirmed by the country’s President, Goodluck Jonathan.
   President Jonathan said the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development had been instructed to build 600,000 housing units as part of the Federal Government’s plan for the housing sector across the country.
   In addition, 240,000 units would be built by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and another 5,000 units constructed through public-private-partnership arrangements.
   President Jonathan expressed optimism that the mass housing initiative would solve the shortage of housing for Public Servants and provide construction job opportunities for the youth in the country.
   He urged Public Servants to see the initiative as part of the Government’s efforts to provide them with a positive environment from which they could give their best to support the administration’s transformation efforts.
   There was praise for the foresight of Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Oladapo Afolabi and his team for initiating the scheme and collaborating with the private sector to secure its funding.
   President Jonathan urged Public Servants to remain loyal, faithful and committed to the Government and to strive to build institutions that would continue to drive Government programs.

3 May, 2011
CANADA
PS election debate ends in debacle
A pre-election debate on public services, hosted by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada and the University of Ottawa, has descended into a relentless attack on the Government and its representative, Pierre Poilievre.
   The debate, entitled Election 2011: the Future of Public Services, involved representatives of the five major Federal parties and was moderated by Don Newman, one of Canada’s most eminent political journalists.
   It quickly turned into a continuous attack on the ruling Conservative Party by the other four parties whether the topic was science policy, replacing retiring PS staff , outsourcing Government work, self-respect among Public Servants, letting Government scientists speak freely, or cutting the deficit.
   Prime Minister Stephen Harper was challenged for undermining the effectiveness, integrity and morale of the Public Service since the Conservatives came to power in 2006.
   Liberal MP, Mauril Bélanger said the Conservatives were not telling the truth when they claimed that cutting $C11 billion ($A10.6 billion) from Government spending over the next four years would not mean a major downsizing of the Federal bureaucracy.
   NDP MP Paul Dewar said the Conservatives’ plan to cut the deficit by cutting spending was “deeply disturbing,” as it raised the prospect of layoffs in the Public Service.
   Mr Poilievre said the Conservatives had an excellent five-year track record of stability when it came to the Public Service.
   “Unlike the previous Liberal Government, which made massive cuts to the bureaucracy when it had to cut the deficit, the Conservatives believe they can bring the deficit under control through greater efficiencies, improved technology and attrition,” Mr Poilievre said.

3 May, 2011
INTERNATIONAL
Call to involve PS in disaster plans
The worldwide union of Government workers, Public Services International (PSI) has called for Public Servants to be consulted and involved in all the planning, decision-making and delivery of services at all levels of disaster recovery.
   PSI which claims to represent 20 million members, said PS workers were the skilled first responders in times of crisis.
   It said emergency services, healthcare, water and energy workers risked their health and lives on the front lines in the service of their communities.
   “Governments are responsible for protecting people,” the PSI sasd in a statement.
   “Investment in strong public safety regulations, well-trained and properly equipped Public Service workers and quality public services are key to effective disaster readiness, risk reduction, response and recovery.”
   It said a comparison of the impact of the 2009 earthquakes in Haiti and Chile was instructive.
   In Chile - thanks in large part to public policy, strong construction regulations and public infrastructure and emergency response investments – the loss of life and building damage were remarkably less than in Haiti.
   In Haiti, where building codes and emergency services were poor – 320,000 people lost their lives and the country’s infrastructure was destroyed, even though the quake in Chile was far stronger than in Haiti.
   PSI urged the United Nations, relevant UN entities, Governments and non-governmental organisations to consult and work with trade unions globally to strengthen emergency prevention and response infrastructures at regional and national levels, and to ensure that emergency workers were well-trained and well-equipped to meet any challenge.

3 May, 2011
THE NETHERLANDS
Job cuts proceeding apace
Plans to cut the size of the Netherlands Public Service by 12,800 jobs are progressing faster than expected but are being offset by extra hirings in some areas.
   A report on the progress of the cuts has found that of the 12,800 Public Service jobs due to be scrapped by 2011, 11,485 had already gone by the end of 2010.
   These included full-time jobs at Ministries and independent outside organisations associated with the Government.
   However, the report found the true total to be 6,000 because several Ministries were exempt from the job reduction scheme which was introduced by then Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende.
   Some were even allowed to take on extra staff.
   The report quoted the example of the number of people employed by the Justice Ministry and the police, which grew by 3,900, and the Defence Ministry which took on an extra 500.
   In 2007, the aim of the downsizing had been to save €630 million ($A853 million).
   The current Government, under Mark Rutte wants to make cuts of €6 billion ($A8.1 billion) in the size of the National Government.
   The Government says the savings will be found in Ministry and outside organisations and by wage freezes. It plans to cut 6,000 from the Ministry of Defence.
   The Government needs to employ more police officers and nurses however to meet election commitments.

3 May, 2011
And From the World in Brief...
NEW ZEALAND
The Head of the New Zealand Public Service, Iain Rennie has predicted its structure will be changed within five years.
   “It’s my own view that we’re going to be delivering services in different ways more efficiently, and that will probably mean over time there are fewer Agencies,” Mr Rennie said
   His own Agency, the State Services Commission, has been rumoured as a possible candidate for a merger, but he said he did not know of any plan to wind up the Commission “at this stage”.

INDIA
Activists campaigning for transparency in Government and against corruption have welcomed a proposed new law to make the online delivery of public services in India mandatory.
   They believe the law could help in the fight against corruption but point out that more efforts needed to be taken to promote computer literacy and internet outreach in rural areas
   There was also a need to complete computerisation of Government offices, the activists said.

MALAYSIA
The peak body representing Public Servants in Malaysia has called for salary adjustments in order to ease the burden of rising prices.
   The Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services wants an additional RM300 ($A93) per month
   It also proposed that the housing allowance for Government employees in grades 40 and below be increased to RM350 ($A108) per month from the current RM180 ($A56).

FIJI
A Government restructure program will seeall Fijian Public Servants serving at the provincial level reassessed.
   The Government plans to introduce a Performance Management System whereby all officers will have to abide by the position description issued to them.
   The aim is to banish any negligent elements in the system. A second phase will see the assessment of Public Servants in the various central Ministries.

KUWAIT
Results of Kuwait’s Transparency Association Reform Index for 2011 for the public sector ranks the State charity, Beit Al-Zakkat, first, followed by the Central Bank of Kuwait and the Kuwait Fire Service Directorate.
   After these came the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research and the Public Authority for Housing Welfare.
   In terms of accountability, the ranking listed the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, the Central Bank of Kuwait, Beit Al-Zakkat, the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research and the Kuwait Fire Service Directorate as the top five public sector institutions.

About Us Subscribe Advertise Contact Us