27 September, 2011
UNITED KINGDOM

MPs warn on PS changes

A committee of British MPs has warned that plans to give more power to community groups to provide public services will not work unless major changes are made to the Public Service.
   And they say that unless the PS is on-side, the changes will be difficult, if not impossible to implement.
   The cross-party group said the Prime Minister had failed to recognise the scale of reform required.
   Decentralisation is one of PM David Cameron’s key priorities in his effort to hand more control to communities.
   However, the MPs said the job of devolving power to voluntary groups and decentralising control would fall to Public Servants who might not have the will or the skills that were needed.
   The MP’s report said that with Government Departments making cuts and offering staff voluntary redundancies, not enough attention had been paid to making sure people with the right skills and experience were kept on.
   Chairman of the committee, Bernard Jenkin said there was a culture in the Public Service that made change very difficult.
   “Civil Service reform is something Ministers talk about, but which most Civil Servants feel does not affect them,” Mr Jenkin said.
   “They keep their heads down until the latest reform has passed over, and then carry on as before.
   “With the challenges of cuts and downsizing on top of the reforms, that is simply not an option this time.”
   The MPs said Ministers must force through changes to the Public Service if they were to implement Mr Cameron’s Big Society, localism and decentralisation.


27 September, 2011
SOUTH AFRICA

PS Week celebrates service

Public Service Week has been observed in South Africa with the emphasis on participation and engagement for the delivery of quality services.
   The celebration was supported by Ministries and individual Public Servants across all levels of Government, together with State owned enterprises, ambassadors, institutions of higher learning, community organisations and private citizens.
   It was aimed at instilling or rebuilding good ethics, morale and pride in Public Servants and encouraging the culture of providing quality services.
   The week promoted inter-Governmental relations by encouraging integrated approaches to the delivery of public services as well as effectively utilising limited Government resources for improved results.
   Heads of Departments, Directors-General and other political principals mixed with frontline staff and citizens to be given a first-hand understanding of service at the grass roots.
   The theme for this year was Transformative Leadership in Public Administration and Governance: Creating a Better Future for All.
   Other activities included unannounced visits to service delivery institutions and service delivery exhibitions aimed at demonstrating to the public how services from provincial and national Departments could be accessed.
   A Senior Management Service Conference was held where presentations included My Public Servant, My Future, as well as workshops on ethics and integrity, and the progress made on the work of the special anti-corruption unit.


27 September, 2011
GREECE

Angry workers strike again

Public transport workers, taxi drivers, teachers and air traffic controllers have all gone on strike in Greece, causing widespread disruption.
   They were protesting at yet another round of spending cuts, including plans to suspend 30,000 Public Servants.
   The Government said the cuts were necessary to allay fears that Greece would default on its debts.
   Without continued payments from a 110 billion euro ($A147.5 billion) program of loans from Euro Zone countries and the International Monetary Fund, Greece would run out of cash by mid-October.
   The Government has lagged behind savings and revenue targets set in its bailout agreement, angering international debt inspectors who threatened to halt the loans - as the country heads for a fourth year of recession with rising unemployment.
   The inspectors are completing a review on whether Greece had done enough to be granted the next eight billion euro ($A10.75 billion) instalment of the bailout loans.
   Greek Minister for Finance, Evangelos Venizelos said the situation was extremely critical.
   “There is a sense of nervousness among the larger Euro Zone members that is affecting us,” Mr Venizelos said.
   Greece is also being affected by problems in other Euro Zone countries.
   “Unfortunately the Euro Zone at this moment falls short of the political and institutional level required to deal with the crisis”, he said.
   “If we want to save the country ... we must keep our heads down and work, because the miracle needed to save the country is in our hands.
   “What is needed is work, work, work.”


27 September, 2011
SCOTLAND

PS job cuts to pay for infrastructure

Cuts to the Scottish Public Service in order to fund housing and transport initiatives are being considered by the Government.
   It said additional revenue going into capital budgets was one option to boost economic recovery.
   Secretary for Finance, John Swinney said that as a result, he could not rule out PS job cuts.
   Mr Swinney said the Scottish Budget was expected to shrink by £3.3 billion ($A5 billion) - or 11 per cent below the 2010-11 level - in the next three years with the capital budget, which paid for infrastructure projects like roads and schools, would drop by 36 per cent.
   He said the Government would put economic growth at the centre of its plans, but Chief Secretary to the British Government Treasury, Danny Alexander said it was time the Scottish Government started making the kind of difficult spending decisions taken by the Government in London.
   Mr Swinney also said that the 12-month public sector pay freeze would need to be extended, but promised it would not last for the whole of the current, five-year Parliament.
   He promised radical reform to the Public Service, including more collaborative working and efficiency savings, but ruled out Local Council mergers.
   The Government has already announced its intention to move towards a single police force, as well as a national fire and rescue service.


27 September, 2011
IRELAND

Holiday error to be honoured

Administrative errors that resulted in part-time Public Servants in Ireland being given additional days of leave are not to result in staff losing the extra benefits in the current year.
   Managers have discovered that some Departments and Agencies had been granting part-time staff the full official complement of two ‘privilege days’ per year on top of annual leave rather than reducing the number to reflect the fact they were not full-time employees.
   Privilege days date back to British rule and were originally given to mark the King’s Birthday and Empire Day. They survived independence, with staff taking them at Christmas and Easter.
   The issue came to light as part of official moves to incorporate the Privilege Days for Public Service personnel into annual leave arrangements. This followed a decision by an arbitration board in the Public Service to overturn moves by the Department of Finance to abolish them.
   In a memorandum sent to Public Service managers, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform said that having considered representations made by trade unions it was prepared “as an exceptional measure” to allow the job-sharing staff concerned to retain the extra two full days annual leave for this year.
   A spokeswoman for the Department said the numbers involved were small and changes now would be complicated as the leave year had already begun.
   She said the exceptional measures would only apply for the leave year 2011-2012.
   Meanwhile the Department of Public Expenditure said its plans to reform leave arrangements across the Public Service were continuing.


27 September, 2011
CANADA

Cost saving consultant defended

The Minister for Finance, Jim Flaherty has defended his decision to hire management consulting firm Deloitte at $C90,000 a day (about the same in Australian dollars) to advise on how to save costs in the Public Service.
   Mr Flaherty said it was wise to bring in a firm from the private sector.
   “It isn’t good, quite frankly, for a Government to just look at itself,” Mr Flaherty said.
   “There’s a lot of expertise in Canada on the subject of public-sector productivity, for example, and we look forward to having the advice of, in this case, Deloitte.”
   He said the overall consulting contract could go as high as $C19.8 million
   All Federal Departments had been ordered to produce internal plans to cut between five and 10 per cent from their total budgets.
   A Cabinet Committee, led by President of the Treasury Board, Tony Clement will pore through the proposals in the next few months and the results will be announced in the 2012 Budget.
   Deloitte is expected to be involved with the work of the Committee, providing a team of experts to give advice and guidance based on private and public sector best practices.
   Mr Flaherty said significant savings could come from attrition in the public sector and Departments had released information to Parliament showing that this was in fact occurring.
   He said attrition had seen the loss of 482 predominantly full-time employees at Agriculture Canada, 430 full and part-time employees at the Privy Council Office and 436 employees at Aboriginal Affairs.
   The Department of Public Safety however offered more detail, noting that of 157 employees who left last year, 75 per cent went on to work for other Federal organisations.
   The Opposition has seized on the detail to suggest the claims of attrition were not necessarily a sign of smaller Government, given the likely high degree of employee movement between Departments.
   It noted that in the case of Aboriginal Affairs, the Department hired virtually the same number of workers that it lost.


27 September, 2011
GHANA

Call for more training

The Governments of West Africa are not putting enough funding into the training of their Public Servants, a top official has claimed.
   Head of Ghana’s Public Service, Woeli K. Kemevor said training and development within the Public Services were not considered priorities in the region.
   “Sometimes no funds are made available at all because nobody appreciates the importance of training Public Servants,” Mr Kemevor said.
   He stressed the need for the Public Services of West African nations to share knowledge and expertise as well institutional facilities.
   He said the Government of Ghana had approved the construction of a six-storey hostel for Public Servants from throughout the region to attend training courses in the country.
   The courses were a joint effort between the Office of the Head of the Civil Service and the Japan International Cooperation Agency which has been supporting the strengthening of the Public Services of African nations for many years.
   Liberian Ambassador to Ghana, Rudolf von Ballmoos praised Ghana for always showing the lead in assisting her neighbours.
   He said his country and Sierra Leone needed Ghana’s support in recovering from years of civil unrest.
   Principal of Ghana’s Civil Service Training Centre, Dora Dei-Tumi said its aim was to become a centre of excellence and a citadel of knowledge in Public Service training and capacity development.
   “Our desire is to build the capacity of our professional trainers delivering cutting edge programs in a state-of-the art-facility for domestic and international Civil Servants,” Ms Dei-Tumi said.


27 September, 2011
UGANDA

Recruits urged to work well

Newly-appointed Public Servants have been urged to “apply themselves” and avoid the temptation to “get rich quick”.
   The 350 newcomers, attending a meeting at Uganda’s National Leadership Institute, heard the Head of Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet, John Mitala warn them that there would be grave consequences for anyone found guilty of bribery, corruption and theft.
   Mr Mitala also cautioned the rookie PS staff against reckless behaviour that could expose them to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
   “Getting a job is not a licence for you, especially the male officers, to go on a rampage and indulge in reckless behaviour,” Mr Mitala said.
   He decried the culture of poor time management in the PS and warned the Public Servants against concocting excuses to justify late appointments.
   He also advised the young professionals to adopt a positive attitude, read widely and work to improve the image of the Public Service.
   Mr Mitala said the Public Service still had challenges related to low pay but he had proposed a uniform wage structure for PS staff with similar qualifications to curb what he termed the selfishness of some institutions that were allowed to determine their own pay scales.
   “This matter will be resolved by establishing an independent body to handle the terms of all Public Servants,” he said.


27 September, 2011
And From the World in Brief...

NORTHERN IRELAND
A Member of Parliament has called for a more open process to choose the new head of the Northern Ireland Public Service.
   Alex Attwood said the current procedure dictated by the First and Deputy First Ministers was not an open one, excluded external applicants and was not the way to build confidence in the appointments process.
   “I am of the firm belief that the more senior management of the Civil Service is opened up, the better it is for the Civil Service, better for Government and better for the people,” Mr Attwood said.

BAHAMAS
The 12th Annual Public Service Week and Recognition of Retirees is currently being celebrated in the Bahamas.
   The theme for the celebration is The Public Service – Client Centered, Productivity Driven and Embracing Technology to Create a New Standard of Excellence.
   A highlight of the week will be the recognition of 24 recently retired Public Servants with 25 years or more of service.

MALDIVES
A section of the Civil Service Act which bans Public Servants from political activities has been found to be inconsistent with the Constitution.
   The Supreme Court of the Maldives has ruled that Article 53 of the Civil Service Act was therefore invalid because Article 30[a] of the Constitution states that it is a right of every citizen to take part in political activities.
   The case was originally lodged by a former Public Servant who worked at the Youth Ministry who was dismissed after he took part in an Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party rally.

BAHRAIN
Websites for citizens who want to complain about the services they have received are to be established by all Ministries and Government bodies in Bahrain.
   The Civil Service Council ordered the move.
   The CSC also reviewed a report on the promotion system which recommended using promotions of eligible employees as a way of upgrading working conditions and increasing productivity.
   Privileges granted to Deputy Premiers and Ministers were also reviewed and it was agreed that talks with the Finance Ministry should undertaken with the aim of regularising these.

UNITED KINGDOM
Special Paid Leave was granted to Public Servants in the UK to attend the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC) Games just a few hours after the PS staff had voted to go on strike.
   The leave, which comes on top of annual holiday entitlements, was granted to more than 1,300 PS staff from 26 public bodies.
   The Games are also subsidised by the Government and were held the day after union delegates voted against proposed PS pension reforms, triggering plans for ‘a day of action’ on 30 November when Public Service workers strike.


27 September, 2011
And From the World in Brief...

GREECE
A scheme to send 60 per cent of Greece’s Public Servants home on ‘standby status” on 60 per cent of their salaries has been criticised in Parliament.
   Unhappy MPs have called for surplus staff to be transferred to understaffed offices instead.

BOTSWANA
Insurance companies are paying the price of the recent Public Service strike in Botswana.
   Many PS staff are no longer able to afford regular premiums after going without pay for two months.
   Other withdrew their entitlements to get through the strike and have not continued with their policies.

OMAN
The Public Service of Oman is making progress towards appointing 50,000 new staff as ordered by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos.
   The Minister of Civil Service, Shaikh Khalid bin Omar al Marhoon said more than 16,200 Omanis have received jobs in the PS so far this year.
   Shaikh Marhoon said a further 916 temporary staff had been given permanent jobs and a new recruitment drive for more staff would begin soon.

JERSEY
The Public Service on the island of Jersey needs to be modernised according to the Chief Minister.
   Senator Terry le Sueur said the upgrade was needed if the island was to continue to have reliable, cost effective services and realise savings of $65 million by 2013.

SCOTLAND
The number of people employed in the Scottish public sector dropped by 4% in the past year
   The reduction means 25,200 left the PS during the year, taking the workforce to 595,200.
   Public sector employment accounts for 23.9 per cent of jobs in Scotland, down from 25.3 per cent over the same three months in 2010.


20 September, 2011
CANADA

PS reform laws haven’t worked

A report into Canada’s Public Service Modernisation Act has found that five years after its introduction it has failed to provide the fairer, accountable staffing process it promised and had not balanced the political rights of workers with the need for an impartial Public Service
   Issued by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the report found that merit-based selection had been weakened by the Act and that unfair or biased staffing processes had increased.
   The report concluded that the Public Service Modernisation Act (PSMA) had failed to achieve the objectives of improving working relations in the Federal Government and ensuring better and more efficient services to Canadians.
   According to the National President of PSAC, John Gordon, the Public Service could not serve the interests of Canada, or promote the constitutional goal of peace, order and good government, by unduly curtailing the constitutional rights of its own workers.
   “Canadians rightly expect that when the Government hires in the Public Service, the most qualified candidate amongst a pool of qualified candidates will get the job,” Mr Gordon said.
   “The new legislation’s definition of merit in hiring actually contradicts the principles of excellence and accountability that Canadians expect, and opens the door to favouritism and partisan appointments.”
   He said the Public Service Staffing Tribunal which was set up to investigate cases of abuse in hiring had issued less than 20 decisions accepting the allegations before it.
   He said because the new legislation eliminated independent third party review of errors, irregularities and omissions in the selection process, some deputy heads of Departments had assumed responsibility for investigation processes where they themselves were implicated.
   “In the absence of real accountability for botched staffing actions, hiring in the Public Service is becoming looser and in some cases, slip-shod,” Mr Gordon said.
   “We are on the cusp of a culture shift in Public Service staffing - less accountability will inevitably mean more unfairness.”
   He said the raison d’être for the PSMA was to improve working relations and produce a better work environment in the Federal public service.
   “After more than five years under the new legislation, it is clear that it has failed to produce its stated objective.”


20 September, 2011
IRELAND

Call to cut PS salaries

The European Central Bank has called on Ireland to cut public sector payrates in the next budget, claiming its Public Servants were among the best paid in Europe.
   Outgoing Board member of the ECB, Jürgen Stark delivered the demand saying PS staff in Ireland earned more than their counterparts in some of the countries who were contributing to the country’s IMF/EU/ECB bailout.
   “Together with Greece, Ireland is still ranking top,” Mr Stark said.
   “This needs to be corrected.
   “One needs to consider that other countries of the euro area provide financial support to Ireland in which the wages of the civil service are significantly lower.”
   He warned the Irish Government against “reform fatigue” saying it had to continue proving to the markets that it was reducing costs and increasing its competitiveness.
   “We fully appreciate what the Government has already done in correcting public wages,” Mr Stark said.
   “However if you compare the wages in the public sector with the wages in the public sector of other countries in the euro area, together with Greece, Ireland is still ranking top. “Public wage increases since the start of Emu [European monetary union] have by far outpaced productivity gains.”
   The comments come at a time PS pay entitlements in Ireland have been in the spotlight.
   In the past week there has been outrage at revelations that top Public Servants have been collecting very high exit packages in addition to their significant pensions.
   The retiring Secretary General of the Prime Minister’s Department received a €600,000 (A$800,000) retirement package on top of his annual pension of €142,670 (A$190,000) and another 55 senior staff are in line for exit packages worth up to €634,000 (A$850,000) if they retire before February when new pension rules kick in.
   A report into public service pay by the Irish Department of Finance in 2009 found Ireland to be substantially ahead of six comparison countries including the Netherlands, Finland, Germany and the UK.
   Pay cuts since have seen the highest paid Secretary salaries down from €300,000 (A$400,000) to €200,000 (A$265,000) with third level pays reduced to €180,000 (A$240,000).


20 September, 2011
NEW ZEALAND

Job cuts raise staff issues

Job cuts in the New Zealand Public Service are draining skills and knowledge from the Service and creating a health and safety time bomb according to the PS union the Public Service Association
   Responding to a Government announcement that almost 2,400 jobs had been cut from the PS in the past two-and-a-half years and unfilled vacancies had gone past 5,500, the PSA’s National Secretary, Brenda Pilott said some of the lost skills would never be regained.
   “State Services Minister Tony Ryall refers to these job cuts as ‘on-going changes in staff positions’,” Ms Pilott said, “but it’s important to consider that every Public Service job cut is actually a person lost, along with their skills, knowledge and experience.
   “Some Public Service workers and their families will be jumping ship altogether and going overseas, so New Zealand loses the investment in their education along with their expertise, skills and knowledge.”
   She said the squeeze on resources was set to continue with Agencies required to save almost a billion dollars from their budgets.
   “We know of several hundred job cuts in the pipeline in the coming months, but on-going cuts will result in a run-down Public Service,” Ms Pilott said.
   “It’s unrealistic to expect overloaded, under-resourced Departments to continue to deliver vital services to New Zealanders without there being an impact.”
   She said a recent survey revealed many PS staff were contributing unpaid overtime and extra hours to prop-up the under-resourced Agencies and deliver much-needed services to the public.
   “It’s a health and safety time bomb,” Ms Pilott said.
   “5,500 jobs either cut or lying empty isn’t about moving resources,” she said.
   “It’s about wholesale cuts to New Zealand’s Public Service.”


20 September, 2011
UNITED KINGDOM

Call for smaller, better paid PS

A think-tank report on Public Service conditions in Britain has argued that the UK PS could afford to lose 400,000 staff and that a ban on salaries higher than the Prime Minister’s should be lifted.
   The report Reformers and Wreckers from the organisation ‘Reform’ says a smaller but better paid Public Service was the way of the future for a nation intent on reforming and improving PS service delivery.
   Unions have been vigorous in their attack of the plan.
   Director of Reform, Andrew Haldenby, said the PM pay limit of £142,500 (A$218,800) a year was “entirely contradictory to the goal of a high productivity public sector”, which he said would need committed leaders paid reasonable salaries to achieve the required improvements in productivity.
   Mr Haldenby said salaries of up to £500,000 (A$750,000) would be required to attract staff with the talents needed to save the billions the Government has to find, describing that pay level as ‘negligible’ when compared to the returns it would produce.
   “The Government does need to decide whether it wants a smaller, high productivity public sector, that could involve higher wages, or just a smaller Public Service, which is a bad one,” he said.
   The Reform report also suggested that the 400,000 jobs could go without impacting on the delivery of services and referred to a fire brigade in Liverpool that had halved domestic fires while reducing its firefighting staff from 1,500 to under 900 in the past 10 years.
   It said high quality leadership had also turned around other PS organisations with the suspension of standard workplace conditions and performance payments to police and other PS staff promising to improve service delivery while cutting staff numbers.
   Mr Haldenby said the best PS managers could change the way they employed people to make their services better and cheaper.
   “A smaller, high quality public sector workforce will mean better public services,” he said.
   National officer of the general services trades union GMB, Brian Strutton condemned the report and the suggested job cuts.
   “To describe 400,000 public sector job losses as ‘easily manageable’ shows an inhumane and frankly disgusting attitude towards working people at a time when there are nearly one million young workers jobless,” Mr Strutton said.
   “Reform again ignores the reality that it is not possible to deflate to growth and a balanced budget.”
   The report Reformers and Wreckers can be accessed at this PS News link.


20 September, 2011
SWAZILAND

King takes swipe at IMF

The King of Swaziland has criticised the International Monetary Fund for continually calling for budget cuts when what his impoverished country needed was help.
   King Mswati III launched the criticism after the IMF called for cuts to Public Service salaries.
   IMF officials in Washington would not comment on the King’s remarks but expressed concern about the kingdom’s deepening crisis and its failure to meet IMF targets to stop borrowing from the central bank and cut wage, travel and defence spending in favour of funding education and health.
   The King said cutting public workers’ wages was difficult when “some of the civil servants are bread winners for large families.”
   He said it was not true to say Swaziland was refusing to embrace IMF programs.
   “What we want is that the IMF hear our side of the story as a country,” the King said.
   “Something which it refuses to do.”
   King Mswati complained that countries like Greece had received bailouts
   Swaziland is some months into a financial crisis that has seen it forced to stop paying to treat cancer patients and close its university for a time.
   Public school principals say they are unable to pay secretaries’ wages or utility bills or buy chalk and other supplies.
   The cuts have led to protests by Public Servants and others, with some people calling on the King to rein in his lavish lifestyle which includes 13 wives.
   Last month South Africa agreed to lend Swaziland 2.4 billion rand (A$300 million) for economic and political reform.


20 September, 2011
INDIA (Delhi)

Service delivery upgraded

New service level agreements (SLAs) have come into force in the Indian capital Delhi’s Public Service entitling the public to Government information and setting standards for on-time service delivery.
   The new laws also ban touts from Government offices.
   Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dickshit (pronounced Dicsith) said the new laws committed the Government to ensuring more transparency and openness in its dealings.
   “Delhi was the first State in the country to implement the Right to Information Act in 2001,” Ms Dickshit said.
   “The citizens must be aware of their rights to enable them to get information from Government Agencies.”
   She said the Citizen’s Charter, together with RTI and Right to Service Delivery Act, would become extremely powerful tools for ensuring efficient and effective public service delivery.
   “The Citizen’s Charters of all major Departments have been printed and are also available on the website of the State Government.”
   She said the new laws entitled Delhi citizens to time-bound delivery of services which requires PS staff to produce results in a timely manner or face a personal penalty of 10 rupees a day (20 cents), to a maximum of R200 (A$4).
   “At present, 32 services have been brought under its ambit,” Ms Dickshit said.
   “Another 40 services will be included in about a month.”
   She said this move would also bring about a positive change in the work culture and eliminate corruption in the local PS.
   “With implementation of SLAs, people will be able to track the status of their applications electronically and their cases will be disposed of in a stipulated period resulting in overcoming delays and fast delivery of services,” she said.


20 September, 2011
IRELAND

Golden handshakes condemned

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in the Irish Government is looking at ways to end the practice of paying Departmental Secretaries severance payments on retirement after a seven-year contract.
   The Minister, Brendan Howlin is responding to public concern following the payment of more than €600,000 (A$800,000) to retired Secretary, Dermot McCarthy who also receives a €142,670 (A$190,000) annual pension.
   Mr McCarthy has been urged by independent MP Shane Ross to return the lump sum.
   Mr Ross said the payout and pension were ‘salt in the wounds’ of other PS staff who had had their pensions levied and ‘plundered’ by the cash-strapped Government.
   Deputy Prime Minister, Eamon Gilmore said the levels of pensions paid in future would be reduced because of the capping of salaries of higher Public Servants, but he did not address the issue of Mr McCarthy’s lump sum.
   Mr Howlin told Parliament the severance payments formed one element of the pension arrangements of senior Public Servants and were decided by the Top Level Appointments Commission, or TLAC.
   He said he would like to abolish it.
   Mr Howlin said lump sum payouts were the “more dubious” elements of pension agreements and would be significantly reduced when new PS pension arrangements took effect in February 2012.
   He said there was just one more person due to retire before the changes were introduced.
   He said he would soon be introducing a single pensions Bill into Parliament which would alter how all pensions were determined by providing for a “career-average” calculation of entitlement, not the final salary level at the end of a career.
   Mr Howlin said this would affect the higher level PS officers most.


20 September, 2011
UNITED KINGDOM

Unions plan strike action

Britain’s biggest Public Service union, the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), is to call another one-day national strike to protest against PS pension changes.
   The union said it would be consulting with other unions about the possibility of a co-ordinated walkout.
   The national executive of PCS decided unanimously to stage a second strike in opposition to the changes which would see personal superannuation contributions increased and pension payments reduced.
   The 280,000 members of the union will also be balloted for other industrial action to accompany the strike, which is likely in November.
   The members walked out on 30 June accompanied by teachers’ unions, disrupting schools, airports, courts and job centres.
   That strike was described as the “best supported strike in PCS’s history”, prompting the union to involve more other unions in its next action.
   General Secretary of PCS, Mark Serwotka said the strike had a major impact on the debate on public and private pensions, and forced the Government onto the back foot.
   “Momentum is clearly building now for further action,” Mr Serwotka said.
   “We will do everything we can to work with [other unions] to ensure this has the maximum impact.”
   Two other unions - FDA and Prospect – which represent senior and specialist Public Servants, have plans for their own industrial action, adding 54,000 Public Servants to the mix.
   In a joint statement, the General Secretary of Prospect, Paul Noon and his counterpart at FDA, Jonathan Baume said pension reform could not be separated from the overall PS reward package and needed to be considered alongside reform of civil service pay in general.
   “Unfortunately, the Government seems unwilling to consider these issues as a whole and engage constructively,” they said.
   “Our members are being asked to pay too high a price for the failings of others, at a time of high inflation and a two-year pay freeze.”
   All three unions said they would continue to attend negotiation talks with the Government, but PCS warned that public-sector managers had so far not shown “a willingness to negotiate on the main issues”.


20 September, 2011
NIGERIA

Fears for performance standards

The President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan has admitted to being worried about a lack of discipline among the country’s Federal Public Servants.
   He hinted at the possibility of making surprise visits to ministries as a way of whipping the workers back into line for the smooth operation of government business.
   The President made the remarks at the swearing in ceremony for two new permanent secretaries, Kehinde Folashade Anjoni and Nabolisa O. Emordi.
   President Jonathan noted that instead of complying with official start and finishing times, many PS workers arrived at work and left whenever they chose.
   “In fact, before my inauguration, I wanted to pay surprise visits to ministries, but it was not a very good period, so, I stopped,” the President said.
   “Probably, I will do something like that this time around.”
   He called on Public Servants to adhere to official work hours of 8am and 4pm and “if, for any reason, an officer would leave office earlier than 4pm or resume later than 8am, the permanent secretary or the director in charge of that directorate must be informed.”
   He urged Departmental Secretaries to ensure that discipline was returned to the Public Service since they were in the best position to deal with slack workers.
   “We must make sure that we bring back discipline into the Service,” he said.
   “In those days, they called it bureaucracy because things were not done anyhow.
   “So, we will begin to see how we can manage an efficient, productive civil service that will lead to the transformation of our dear country,” the President said.


20 September, 2011
And From the World in Brief...

GREECE
A scheme to send 60 per cent of Greece’s Public Servants home on ‘standby status” on 60 per cent of their salaries has been criticised in Parliament.
   Unhappy MPs have called for surplus staff to be transferred to understaffed offices instead.

BOTSWANA
Insurance companies are paying the price of the recent Public Service strike in Botswana.
   Many PS staff are no longer able to afford regular premiums after going without pay for two months.
   Other withdrew their entitlements to get through the strike and have not continued with their policies.

OMAN
The Public Service of Oman is making progress towards appointing 50,000 new staff as ordered by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos.
   The Minister of Civil Service, Shaikh Khalid bin Omar al Marhoon said more than 16,200 Omanis have received jobs in the PS so far this year.
   Shaikh Marhoon said a further 916 temporary staff had been given permanent jobs and a new recruitment drive for more staff would begin soon.

JERSEY
The Public Service on the island of Jersey needs to be modernised according to the Chief Minister.
   Senator Terry le Sueur said the upgrade was needed if the island was to continue to have reliable, cost effective services and realise savings of $65 million by 2013.

SCOTLAND
The number of people employed in the Scottish public sector dropped by 4% in the past year
   The reduction means 25,200 left the PS during the year, taking the workforce to 595,200.
   Public sector employment accounts for 23.9 per cent of jobs in Scotland, down from 25.3 per cent over the same three months in 2010.


13 September, 2011
UNITED KINGDOM

PS contractors dodging tax

A new report has revealed that more than half the private companies winning UK Government contracts have subsidiaries in tax havens.
   According to Ethical Consumer magazine, out of the 20 biggest companies being awarded PS contracts, 13 have subsidiaries in places usually used to minimise tax bills.
   Co-author of the report, Tim Hunt said that at a time when the UK Government was implementing the biggest cuts to public spending in living memory, it should at least be demanding that companies awarded contracts not make use of tax havens to avoid paying their fair share of tax.
   The practice was condemned by the British Green Party with Leader Caroline Lucas MP saying it was “completely unacceptable.”
   “It is completely unacceptable that the Government is paying no regard to the social and environmental records of the companies who are being awarded contracts to run our public services,” Ms Lucas aid.
   “It completely undermines their rhetoric about aspiring to be the greenest Government.”
   Richard Murphy from the Tax Justice Network, said the findings were troubling, but “seem to form part of a pattern that now appears deliberate.”
   “We’re seeing taxpayers’ money now being captured by private corporations who are using it for the benefit of a few in society at a cost to the great many ordinary people who’re paying the price through reduced services, benefits and even healthcare, and all at the cost of increased tax,” Mr Murphy said.
   The magazine said its list of companies was compiled from information provided by the union Unison and the Cabinet Office.


13 September, 2011
UNITED STATES (Rhode Island)

Funds run low for PS pensions

Retired Public Servants in the US State of Rhode Island may be facing reductions in their pensions or going without indexation as the State grapples with a fast-growing unfunded superannuation liability.
   The State legislature is expected to consider changes next month during a special session.
   According to local media reports, the problems arose when the pension fund investments failed to materialise and Government workers were forced to contribute more to the fund to make up the shortfall.
   “The Ponzi-scheme quality of the retirement system is becoming more and more obvious,” one media report said.
   “Current employees have to pay more and more into the system but instead of being set aside to pay their pensions, the money is going to current retirees.”
   It said the fear was that Rhode Island may just be the first of many jurisdictions to face the same dilemma.
   “Rhode Island turned its pension program into a Ponzi scheme with the same basic technique that is being used in cities and states all over the country.”
   “It projected unreasonable rates of return on the money the State set aside to pay the pensions when the bills came due.
   The reports said the city of Cranston in Rhode Island was facing insolvency due to its pension obligations.
   “A locally managed pension plan for firefighters and police is underfunded by $245 million - nearly equivalent to the city’s entire annual budget.
   “Meanwhile, coming increases to pay for local workers enrolled in State-run pension plans would cost an additional $14 million next July - the combined cost of core services such as trash removal, parks and recreation, and libraries.”
   The reports also said that many retirees were responding to the crisis by taking on part-time jobs.
   Nationally, the total amount of accumulated debt for PS pensions in the US is estimated at $3 trillion.
   “When the bills come due and the money just isn’t there, something has to give,” they said.


13 September, 2011
NORTHERN IRELAND

Bank sued over pension promises

Failed banking giant Lehmann Brothers is being pursued for millions of pounds by the Northern Ireland Public Service pension fund.
   The former chief executive of the bank, Richard Fuld and other senior executives have asked a Judge in the United States to release US$90 million (NI£55 million) of insurance funds to settle the lawsuit which was being brought by a number of funds which invested in the company including The Northern Ireland Local Government Officers Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC).
   The fund runs the pension scheme for Public Servants in Northern Ireland.
   NILGOSC and other investors accused Lehman of selling them the stock in the company at an over-inflated price in 2006.
   They said the company painted a “misleadingly rosy picture” of its financial health and are demanding reimbursement for subsequent losses.
   Mr Fuld and the other current and former directors of Lehmanns have asked the Judge to modify bankruptcy rules to allow them to settle the claims by using insurance policies.
   The Judge has released funds nine times in the past to pay for similar settlements and any payout would come from insurance liability policies.
   Lehman Brothers, once the world’s fourth largest investment bank, filed for bankruptcy in 2008 with US$639 billion in assets (NI£390 billion).
   The proposed settlement follows a number of other investigations into Lehman’s collapse which to date have not led to any prosecutions of senior officials at the company.
   The value of the Lehman stock NILGOSC invested in is not known.


13 September, 2011
PHILIPPINES

Anniversary celebrations overshadowed

Celebrations of the 111th anniversary of the Philippines Civil Service Commission have been sidetracked by claims the CSC has not been supporting PS workers to receive adequate pay.
   According to the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE), some Public Servants are living in poverty despite negotiating better working conditions with their agency which the CSC overrules.
   Many government employees from different agencies have protested outside CSC offices condemning what they describe as the “ironic” activities of the Commission.
   President of the Quezon City Hall Employees Association, Erwin Lanuza said the country’s government employees were in a “dismal situation.”
   “Behind our pretty uniforms is the shameful reality that government employees are deprived of basic needs to live decently,” Mr Lanuza said.
   “The CSC exists to ‘ensure protection of the government employees and to raise the dignity of civil service.
   “But on the occasion of the CSC’s 111th anniversary, the country’s civil servants have nothing to celebrate because their rights are being trampled upon, and the CSC is not doing anything to stop it.”
   He said government employees could not afford to live in dignity, as their meagre salaries cannot get them decent housing, health care or decent education for their family.
   Vice-president of Courage, Rose deBlois said it was sad that the CSC, which should have been aiding public sector employees, was engaged, instead, in undermining their hard-won gains.
   She said government employees were serving millions of Filipinos whose numbers were increasing by the day, yet they are being deprived of the “crumbs” they had managed to acquire for themselves through their collective mass actions and collective negotiation agreements.
   National President of Courage, Ferdinand Gaite said that under new laws, collective negotiation agreements (CNAs) were subject to review by the Civil Service Commission which often removed benefits already agreed upon and signed by the union and management.
   Mr Gaite challenged the CSC and the Government to promote the public sector employees’ right to self-organisation and their right to collective bargaining and negotiations.


13 September, 2011
CANADA

Whistleblowers fear for reputation

A whistleblowers’ group in Canada has declared that rulings by the Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB) against whistleblowers was harming the country’s international reputation.
   Director of the Federal Accountability Initiative for Reform (FAIR), David Hutton made the claim in commentary on a decision of the PSLRB to uphold the sacking of two Health Canada scientists who refused to approve the release of commercial products into the food supply - antibiotics, hormones and chemicals - without the legally required safety evidence. The Board reversed a third scientist’s dismissal.
   Mr Hutton said the decision, when viewed alongside the failure of the federal office set up to investigate whistleblower allegations which buried them instead, meant government policy was hurting Canada’s reputation around the world.
   He described the two-out-of-three PSLRB ruling as “absurd” and unjust saying the Senate had promised to protect the three scientists from reprisals but did nothing as they were fired for “insubordination.”
   He said all three should have been treated the same.
   He compared the scientists’ treatment with that of the former public sector integrity commissioner Christiane Ouimet who resigned after being found out burying allegations of government wrongdoing for years.
   He said the government’s failure to punish Ms Ouimet for her misconduct - and give her a $500,000 severance package instead - made a mockery of the public sector whistleblowing regime and showed that nobody would ever be sanctioned.
   “Employees who unquestioningly obey orders, even unethical or illegal orders, are valued, rewarded and promoted,” Mr Hutton said, “while those whose integrity leads them to resist are dubbed disloyal and persecuted.”
   The scientists’ union, the Professional Institute of the Public Service has announced it will appeal against the sackings to the Federal Court.


13 September, 2011
NIGERIA

300 forced to retire

Three hundred Public Servants in Nigeria have been earmarked for involuntary retirement.
   At the same time the Head of Service of the Federation, Prof Oladapo Afolabi is to retire at the of this month, 300 federal civil servants from all levels of the Service are to go as well, judged to have served the maximum period of 35 years in the Service or reached the age of 60.
   The mass-retirement exercise is part of an ongoing reform program within the Nigerian Public Service which three permanent secretaries retired last month and three replacements appointed.
   A list of over 30 affected staff members was placed on the notice board at the Office of the Head of Service last week naming officers between grades 7 and 17.
   The nominated staff would now be offered pre-retirement training at institutes for the training of public administrators and personnel managers in Abuja and Lagos.
   It was understood that some of the staff had already retired but would be brought back for the pre-retirement training.
   The retirement exercise is being managed by the Office of Head of Service, the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCC) and the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) although the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation declined to comment on the exercise and the BPSR would not return calls.
   Junior level staff due for retirement are to undergo their pre-retirement training at the Civil Service Institute in Abuja while middle and some senior level officers would be trained at the Centre for Management Development in Lagos.
   Directors from level 15 and above would be trained at the Administrative and Staff College of Nigeria, also in Lagos.
   A new list of names is expected to be released next month.


13 September, 2011
UNITED KINGDOM

Tender call of PS IT network

The British Government’s Procurement Service is setting up a cross-Government framework for a Public Service IT and associated communications network (PSN).
   The Procurement Service has costed the network at between £500 million (A$767m) and £2 billion (A$3.07bn) and placed an advertisement in the European Union’s Official Journal to attract tenderers.
   The framework is to be divided into 10 sections covering communications services; CCTV and security monitoring; conferencing; managed equipment room services; call centre services; mobile voice and data; paging; LAN; gateway services; and unified services.
   Over 100 contractors are expected to sign up to deliver parts of the framework, which would be available to central government departments and their agencies, non departmental public bodies, the health system and local authorities.
   Voluntary sector charities, and private organisations acting as managing agents, or procuring on behalf of public sector bodies, would also be able to use the agreement.
   Contracts are expected to range from the installation and maintenance of large telecoms systems, to the supply of voice recorders, SIM cards and mobile phones.
   The Procurement Service says the framework will be suitable for small and medium suppliers.
   Initially the agreement will be in place for two years, but it could be extended by two further terms of 12 months each. Typically, the contracts signed are expected to last for five years.
   In August the Procurement Service advertised for telecommunications connectivity services in a first step towards implementing the PSN.
   The PSN is being built as a ‘network of networks‘ to allow collaborative working across the public sector.


13 September, 2011
GHANA

Ex-Minister fears for PS

A former Deputy Minister in Ghana has expressed concern at the slow death of his nation’s Public Service
   Osei Assibey Antwi said the way Public Servants were victimised and the service had been made ineffective must be a source of worry to all Ghanaians.
   He said the nation was losing the core of its Public Service through political witch-hunting which was leaving the country poorer.
   He said the current trend of giving preference to hiring expatriates and paying them hard currency instead of employing Ghanaians was being followed at the expense of growth in the public sector.
   He pointed to instances where chief executives in the public service with a “world of experience” and who had worked very hard to keep the government machinery oiled and running, had been sent home
   He said the services of the officials had been dispensed with, not because they were inefficient, corrupt, incapable or breached the code of ethics or rules but because they were suspected to be aligned to a particular political party.
   “The fundamental dilemma of developing disagreement with their political bosses should not make civil and public servants be perceived and branded political opponents,” Osei Assibey Antwi said.
   “They should be spared unwarranted political criticism and name calling.”
   He said two cases in point were the recent dismissals of top professionals in the health sector, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng and Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare who were internationally acclaimed as a heart surgeon and medical teacher.
   He said despite them putting Ghana first and applying their knowledge and expertise to the service of their countrymen and women, they eventually faced humiliation.
   He called on the Government and the PS to collaborate and consult better to build an improved and transparent government system for the sake of the country.
   “To sustain public confidence in the governance system, public officials must not be influenced politically, so that the loyalty, honesty, integrity, diligence, accountability and efficiency must not be compromised on the altar of political expediency,” Osei Assibey Antwi said.


13 September, 2011
ZIMBABWE

Call for safer public transport

Public Service vehicles in Zimbabwe have been criticised for overloading and putting lives at risk in the event of an accident.
   Secretary-General of the Zimbabwe Passengers’ Association (ZPA) Paul Makiwa, said commuter buses were expected to carry a maximum number of passengers for safety reasons but were often overloaded.
   “If a car is registered to carry 15 passengers, it should carry this number only,” Mr Makiwa said.
   “Often when accidents occur, the passengers are left uncompensated as they will not have been covered by insurance.”
   He said the rate at which passengers were dying was “too high.”
   “If a car is overloaded, the tyres are likely to burst,” he said.
   “Public Service drivers should therefore be cognisant of taking caution in respect to passenger safety, because we cannot be packed like fish in a car.”
   Mr Makiwa said it was time passengers exercised their rights and urged public vehicle operators to recruit qualified drivers so that passengers’ lives were not “endangered by reckless and inexperienced drivers”.
   He said during recent public holidays 22 people died while 250 others were injured in separate road accidents countrywide.
   Two weeks ago, 20 people died and 26 others were injured - five seriously - when a Chawasarira bus burst a front tyre while overtaking and sideswiped a truck 58km outside Harare.
   He said there were 67 road-related deaths in August, the highest in many years.


13 September, 2011
And From the World in Brief...

UNITED STATES (California)
Almost 3,300 PS staff in California have been issued ‘Restriction of Appointment’ notices indicating that their jobs are likely to disappear in a layoff process expected to take some years.
   Several thousand are expected to be laid off by the time the process is complete.
   Managers issue the notices in the hope the employees will move on rather than wait to be laid off but historically about a third have to be dismissed.

UNITED KINGDOM
Two more unions have warned the British government they will take industrial action if it goes ahead with plans to increase pension contributions.
   Prospect and the FDA, which represent professional and senior staff, say they could take action in November.
   The Government wants Public Servants to pay £1.1billion (A$1.68bn) in extra contributions from April, a proposal that has already prompted one day strike.

NEPAL
The Nepalese Government has celebrated National Civil Service Day.
   The slogan for 2011 was ‘Service to the people: Support to rule of law’.
   During the celebrations 41 PS staff received awards for excellence and former Secretaries honoured.
   The outstanding Public Servant was also named, receiving 200,000 rupees (A$2,570).

KUWAIT
Public Service staff who failed to return to work on the day after the Eid holidays without a valid reason are to be punished.
   The Civil Service Commission (CSC) is to take the action against ministries and other government agencies’ employees in accordance with the rules and has asked government bodies to submit a list of malingering employees for punishment.

SINGAPORE
The Singapore Government’s largest shared services department has beaten off 450 entries from the public and private sectors to win the annual Asia Pacific Shared Services Excellence Awards.
   The Agency known as ‘Vital’ took the award which was organised by the Shared Services and Outsourcing Network (SSON) ), the world’s largest industry organisation for shared services comprising 60,000 members.
   The award was presented as a highlight of the 14th Annual Asia Pacific Shared Services Week.


6 September, 2011
UNITED STATES

PS response to 9/11 criticised

A new report on the restructuring of the United States Public Service following the 11 September, 2001 terrorist attacks is critical of some of the measures taken.
   The report says that the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence through the consolidation of numerous smaller Agencies had had immediate appeal but came at a cost.
   It says that such efforts could be “extremely disruptive, consume enormous energy, divert attention from important policy initiatives and at least in the short run, cost extra, not less, money.
   The Department of Homeland Security resulted from the merger of 22 Agencies and 180,000 employees and was the largest Federal Government reorganisation since the creation of the Defense Department a half-century earlier.
   It resulted in a series of struggles over its role, some as minor as what kind of uniform its law enforcement officers should wear.
   The Office of the Director of National Intelligence had battled to assert control over the 16-Agency intelligence community while there were problems over hiring new employees.
   “As a result we got people who knew nothing about intelligence, absolutely nothing,” the report quotes the Office’s former Director, Mike McConnell, as saying.
   It also says Public Servants saw the mass hirings as a quick path to promotion.
   The report says that more effective was the development of a common set of values and distribution of awards and decorations to people who demonstrated those values. It quotes former Chief Human Capital Officer at the Office, Ronald Sanders as saying that while this may appear trite “the effort carried a positive psychic value that was off the charts”.
   The report, Securing the Future: Management Lessons of 9/11, was published by the Partnership for Public Service and draws on interviews with more than 20 past and present Government officials and leaders.
   It can be accessed at this PS News link.


6 September, 2011
UGANDA

PS warned to lift performance

Public Servants in Uganda have been warned they can no longer rely on career-long employment with pensions at the end.
   Prime Minister, Amama Mbabazi said the Government had switched to performance based contracts.
   “Failure to deliver on these contracts will place your job in jeopardy,” Mr Mbabazi said.
   “The permanence of your job will depend on your ability to deliver.”
   He said performance based employment had been used in the private sector for decades and it was a “long overdue initiative for the Public Service.”
   The Prime Minister said that Governments liked to measure themselves against simple results – the number of classrooms built, students enrolled, kilometres of road laid – without really checking whether it was value for money.
   “In a world of finite resources, efficiency, wherever it can be generated, is welcome, but more especially in Uganda where our public administration bill is shooting through the roof,” Mr Mbabazi said.
   “We have to make every coin count.”
   As an example, the Prime Minister said there would be a more systematic management of the Government car pool.
   “A cursory observation of how our Government vehicles are abused suggests there is much scope for savings in fuel and maintenance costs,” he said.
   He also ordered a review of procurement procedures to see if existing protocols were being adhered to.


6 September, 2011
UNITED NATIONS

Pay adjustment opposed by US

A payrise of almost three per cent for 4,800 staff of the United Nations headquarters in New York has been opposed by the United States, the UN’s largest donor.
   Senior US Diplomat at the UN, Joseph Torsella said the pay rise was inappropriate at a time of global austerity.
   UN base salaries have already been frozen but the rise constitutes a “post adjustment” ensuring staff around the world have the same purchasing power.
   Mr Torsella said national Governments everywhere were implementing drastic austerity measures such as layoffs, service reductions, revenue increases, and reductions in pay and benefits for Public Servants.
   “We must, at a minimum, forgo salary increases,” Mr Torsella said.
   “Failure to do so could well lead to more draconian approaches to budget-balancing in the future.”
   In a letter to the Chair of the International Civil Service Commission, Kingston Rhodes, Mr Torsella said that the US Government “respectfully requests that the Commission take appropriate steps to restore the post adjustment index for New York”.
   The 15-person Commission is an independent expert body set up by the UN General Assembly to regulate conditions of staff service in the United Nations.
   Mr Rhodes said he was studying the letter and would consult with other members of the Commission before replying.
   Sources close to the Commission said this year’s pay raise was the first it had awarded since 2008.


6 September, 2011
GREECE

PS pay reform judged too slow

Representatives of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund are insisting the Greek Government speed up plans for a new across-the-board pay structure for the Public Service.
   Top officials from the three groups, collectively known as the Troika, are reported to be unhappy that the Government has yet to arrive at a wage formula.
   The Greek Minister for Finance, Evangelos Venizelos and Minister for Administrative Reform, Dimitris Reppas have said that a new pay policy would be phased in over seven years rather than the three years previously agreed.
   They said the new pay structure they were preparing would save an extra 200 million euros ($A270 million) a year and that the cuts made in June to supplementary wages would lead to annual savings of 350 million euros ($A473 million).
   The Troika is also pressuring the Government over the slow pace of its scheme to merge and shut down public bodies, and its privatisation program.
   Sources said that the three organisations were content with the plans to raise 1.3 billion euros ($A1.75 billion) by the end of September and another 3.3 billion ($A4.45 billion) by the end of the year, but were concerned about how the scheme would continue in 2012.
   Minister for Health, Andreas Loverdos said he was certain his Department would meet the Troika’s targets.


6 September, 2011
PHILIPPINES

PS Commission Budget on hold

The Government of the Philippines is withholding the Civil Service Commission’s P606 million ($A13.3 million) budget until it acts on a three-year old application from a group of public school teachers in General Santos City for accreditation as a union.
   The Metrian Public School Teachers’ Union from the Irene Santiago National High School in General Santos has been waiting for accreditation from the Commission since 2008.
   The delay has been attributed to the Commission’s failure to produce guidelines on the accreditation of public school teachers’ unions.
   Representative of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), Antonio Tinio said the teachers could not enjoy the economic and non-economic benefits under a Collective Negotiation Agreement without a union.
   He said this deprived public school teachers of their Constitutional right to organise into unions and to engage in collective bargaining.
   Parliamentarian, Rolando Andaya Jr, who is Chair of the House Sub-committee deliberating on the Commission’s budget, said it would be held up until the guidelines were issued.
   “The Commission’s budget will not be taken up if they will not act on the demand of the public school teachers,” Mr Andaya said.
   This could have significant ramifications as the Commission’s budget is part of the larger national Budget which under the Constitution must be passed by the end of the year.


6 September, 2011
BERMUDA

PS has more staff than business

The number of people employed in the Bermuda Public Service now exceeds those employed in international business, according to new statistics.
   The news was decried by the Shadow Minister of Finance, Bob Richards who said it showed how Government policies were “killing jobs”.
   The Bermuda Job Market Employment Briefs, published by the Department of Statistics, showed the economy had lost 1,423 jobs in 2010.
   Figures dating back to 2006 showed there had always been more workers employed in international business than the Public Service until last year.
   In 2008, there were 4,223 Public Servants and 4,761 in international business. Now, there are 4,296 jobs in the Public Service and 4,287 in international business.
   The survey revealed that the total number of jobs across all sectors held by Bermudians declined by 542, while positions filled by non-Bermudians and non-Bermudian spouses of Bermudians decreased by 867 and 13 respectively.
   Mr Richards said businesses were downsizing due to the economic climate, but were also sending their workers elsewhere due to immigration red tape in Bermuda.
   “Government policies have been job killers for Bermudians and non-Bermudians.,” Mr Richards said.
   “There are fewer people working in international business now than Government, and Government gets its money from international business.”
   President of the Bermuda Employers’ Council, Keith Jensen said the statistics underscored the country’s overall economic decline, with different impacts in different sectors. However, the overall decline had accelerated since 2009.


6 September, 2011
GERMANY

Charities hit by loss of conscription

German charities seem to be paying the price for the abolition of military conscription this year with the steady pool of conscientious objectors serving their time in the Public Service instead drying up.
   A new volunteer program launched to replace the conscientious objector option, has failed to find sufficient numbers and many service organisations are facing shortages.
   The new Federal Voluntary Service is looking to eventually recruit 35,000 volunteers for placements across Germany.
   Unlike the Public Service program, available only to young men opting out of the military, the new service is open to women and does not have an age limit.
   Minister for Families, Kristina Schröder has urged potential recruits to “commit themselves to the common good”, but critics have said that it is ridiculous for the Government to try to introduce a culture of volunteerism in just a few months.
   A spokesperson for the charity Malteser, Claudia Kaminski said German society was used to mandatory military and public service.
   Ms Kaminski said 40 per cent of the Public Service volunteers at Malteser had agreed to stay on longer, which would help with the transition, but she expected it would take years for the organisation to regain its annual number of volunteers.
   While the Government was saying that 17,300 Federal Voluntary Service contracts had been signed by 1 July, all but 3,000 were former Public Service recruits who had agreed to extend their terms.
   This contrasts with the 35,000 target which the Government says it is still confident it will reach.


6 September, 2011
GHANA

Planners accused of double standards

Employees at the Department of Town and Country Planning claim their managers are guilty of favouritism and double standards in the awarding of some contracts.
   In a letter to a newspaper, the workers said contracts extending the service of some Regional Directors had been issued despite the managers having reached, or been near, to retirement
   Chief Executive of the Department, Glenn Harris confirmed that the post retirement contracts had been issued.
   He said seven retiring officers from the Department had been re-engaged on contract to serve as mentors to younger colleagues.
   The employees said the action smacked of double standards by their directors.
   “If you keep a retired officer at a position, what happens to the next in line for promotion to the position being occupied by the retiree?” they asked.
   They said other issues in the Department included delayed promotions, inadequate staffing and other conditions militating against its smooth running.
   They wondered how the aims of the Better Ghana campaign could be attained if senior staff of Government Departments could be awarding contracts to cronies when the Public Service was only allowed to replace retiring or exiting staffs.
   A spokesman for the Department said the contract extensions were negotiated in good faith in order to facilitate a smooth transition.
   “These directors are well trained and we want them around to train their juniors before they go home finally so that the Department does not lose the expertise,” the spokesman said.


6 September, 2011
MALAYSIA (Sarawak)

Call to recruit more Dayaks

The Malaysian Government should recruit more Dayaks to the Public Service, the Sarawak Minister for Land Development, Tan Sri James Masing says.
   Speaking at the Borneo Convention Centre in Kuching, Tan Sri Masing agreed that the current level of just two per cent of Dayaks in the 700,000-strong Public Service was too low. Dayaks are the native people of Borneo.
   One of the problems was the physical separation between Peninsular Malaysia, and the Borneo Island States of Sabah and Sarawak.
   “There is a problem here, but hopefully the Federal Government will not leave the matter unattended for too long as it could be played up by the Opposition,” Tan Sri Masing said.
   “I hope the Federal Government will be more understanding towards our needs and recognise our contributions to the country.”
   Despite the physical division, he believed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had a much better understanding of the people in Sarawak and their needs, especially considering the 1Malaysia campaign he supported.
   Tan Sri Masing said the Federal Government should take into account the extent of Sarawak’s contribution to Malaysia as a whole.
   “We want to make a full contribution to our country – it is not just a matter of recognition,” he said.
   Dayak is a loose term for the more than 200 ethnic groups that make up the population of Borneo.


6 September, 2011
And From the World in Brief...

KUWAIT
Public Servants have not been banned from using social media, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) says.
   Under-secretary at the CSC, Mohammad Al Roumi, said the reports, which were reported in PS News last week, were incorrect.
   “There were no reports or complaints from Government sector officials about an increasing use of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook during work hours,” Mr Al Roumi said.

NIGERIA
The Nigerian Government has supported an analyst’s view that Public Service contract awards and procurement are riddled with corruption.
   Director-General of the Bureau for Public Procurement, Emeka Ezeh said corruption was so deep seated that officials routinely charged contractors up to N5 million ($A30,000) to “push” a file.
   Mr Ezeh said officials in charge of awarding contracts often favoured their cronies and sometimes allowed a particular individual to represent different firms bidding for the same contract.

PHILIPPINES
Awards for rendering “responsible, accessible, courteous, and effective Government services are to be made to 30 Public Servants in the Philippines.
   The awards are part of the 111th anniversary celebrations for the Philippines Public Service.
   The Civil Service Commission said the award winners were role models for the nation’s other 1.4 million Public Servants.

UNITED KINGDOM
A Government grant of £500,000 ($A761,000) made for the launch of a free schools project advocated by the British Conservative Party, should be investigated by the Head of the Public Service.
   Cabinet Secretary, Sir Gus O’Donnell has been asked by the shadow Minister for Education to rule on whether Public Servants, Special Advisers or Ministers went against the letter or spirit of their codes of conduct.
   The shadow Minister, Andy Burnham said he wanted to know if any pressure was placed on Public Servants to award public money to the private organisation.

CAYMAN ISLANDS
Rumours that 3.2 per cent cost of living allowance for public sector workers in the Cayman Islands is to be reinstated have not been backed officially according to the Civil Service Association.
   The allowance was withdrawn in July when the Government was expecting to suffer a $30 million ($A34.2 million) deficit in the 2010-11 financial year.
   That prediction proved to be more than $50 million ($A57 million) out with the Government actually ending the year with a $25 million ($A28.5 million) surplus, leading to speculation the cost of living allowance was back on the agenda.