SearchArchives for March 2009
31 March, 2009JAMAICA
Crisis talks to solve pay dilemma
Crisis talks between Public Service unions and the Jamaican Ministry of Finance are being held to discuss options for meeting a proposed Public Service pay rise due next month.
The Government has indicated it will not be able to meet the pay rise unless some employees are sacked.
Officials of the Ministry of Finance were planning further meetings with trade unions representing Public Sector workers in a last ditch attempt to save jobs in the Public Service.
The General Secretary of the Union of Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Personnel, St. Patrice Ennis, said trade unions will shortly receive information on the fiscal accounts.
"We've asked for the information which will enable us to make an informed decision on how to treat the Government's request which is that they are unable to pay the seven per cent pay rise for this year," he said.
Last month, the Labour Party Government of Prime Minister Bruce Golding admitted that it was hard pressed to accommodate the Public Sector wage bill which currently amounts to an annual $J111 billion ($A1.75 billion)
With wages and other allowances scheduled to increase on 1 April, the Government will have to find an additional $38 billion ($A600 million) to pay Public Servants during the next financial year.
31 March, 2009
LITHUANIA
4,000 PS jobs to go as economy struggles
Up to 4,000 jobs are to be cut from the Lithuanian Public Service in the first stage of plans to reduce public spending in the Baltic State.
Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said executives in State-owned corporations could also expect to have their salaries cut and investment plans for their operations would be revised.
Mr Kubilius said spending plans would have to be reviewed as the economy was declining more deeply and rapidly than earlier expected,
He would not project the estimated contraction in Lithuania's economy for 2009 but said the Finance Ministry was expected to publish a forecast in the next few days
The Prime Minister said his country's output would plunge by more than five per cent in 2009, while the Government had earlier forecast a 4.8 per cent drop.
"Our strategic goal is to have stable finances and to keep the Budget deficit within a three per cent limit of GDP," he said.
The Government is delaying until June decisions on other public spending issues, including salaries and social spending.
Economic growth in the country of 3.4 million stood at 3.1 per cent in 2008 after a record 8.9 per cent increase in 2007.
European Union experts have been warning on the troubled state of Lithuanian finances for some time. A widening Budget deficit, coupled with climbing inflation, seems to be preparing the ground for a hard landing – if not crash landing – of the economy, they said.
31 March, 2009
NEW ZEALAND
PM denies jobs are to be cut
The New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, has denied that thousands of Public Service jobs would be lost in a cost-cutting exercise but said some jobs would be redesigned and relocated.
He said an announcement about the Government's cap on Public Service numbers would be made shortly.
However, the Opposition said that instead of the simple cap on staffing promised by the Government, it was planning significant job cuts.
Mr Key told Parliament the policy would be straightforward.
“We will be capping the size of the State sector,” Mr Key said.
He said the PS had grown “enormously” under the previous Government and that some jobs would be moved “from the back offices to the front office, but by and large the vast bulk of Public Service jobs will stay."
State Services Minister Tony Ryall was expected to clarify the Government’s definition of what the core Public Service was, leaving some areas, such as police, outside the cap so job numbers could increase.
Unions and the Opposition have raised questions about the effects on different Departments which have been asked to identify up to 10 per cent of their lowest-value spending ahead of the Budget on 28 May.
Department heads have been told in Treasury briefings that they should identify programs that were inconsistent with the Government's priorities or of "limited, unknown or uncertain" cost effectiveness.
However, Finance Minister, Bill English said there was no cuts target.
"They are not targets, because the target here has been to get rid of low quality expenditure and implement the National Government’s promises,” Mr English said
31 March, 2009
HOLLAND
PS pay cuts likely in austerity Budget
Cuts to Public Service salaries, social security benefits and an increase to the minimum pension age are among measures reportedly being considered by the Dutch Government to beat the current recession.
Finance Minister, Wouter Bos told MPs that the deal also had to be discussed with unions and employers.
“It is important to organise support for the plan,” Mr Bos said.
Among the measures which had been agreed was an increase in the State pension age from 65 to 67, according to media reports.
The owners of homes worth more than €1million ($A1.9 million) could also face extra taxes and the Volkskrant newspaper said help with healthcare insurance for low income households was set to be cut.
Another newspaper, NRC Handelsblad said €3.2 billion ($A6.10 billion) could be saved by cutting social security benefits and Public Service salaries.
It is not clear when and how the pension age will be increased and if the over-50s will be exempt, it said.
The head of the FNV Trade Union Federation, Agnes Jongerius, said her organisation totally opposed any increase in the pension age.
The Telegraaf newspaper said Ministers have agreed to put €6 billion ($A11.40 billion) into extra investments and tax cuts aimed at boosting employment and cutting planning procedures for new construction projects.
The Flight Tax, introduced last year as an environmental measure, is the most likely tax to be scrapped, the paper said.
The Government needs to make spending cuts to keep the Budget deficit in line with European Union rules that state the deficits of member countries should not rise above 3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product.
31 March, 2009
ZIMBABWE
PS unpaid as foreign exchange dries up
A plan to pay Public Servants and teachers in Zimbabwe in US dollars to counter the high inflation effects of the local currency, have run into trouble as the nation’s banks report they have run out of foreign exchange.
The announcement came as Public Servants queued to withdraw their US100 ($A144) allowance for March.
Soldiers, teachers, policemen and other Public Servants have struggled, and failed in most instances, to withdraw their allowances.
The Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) has expressed concern over the development, saying that more than 50 per cent of teachers have missed lessons since last week because of the new problem.
An official said his offices had been turned into a “squatter camp” as teachers descended there for shelter overnight after failing to access their allowances.
“We are very worried by this development, given the fact that schools opened late this term,” the official said.
“What is disturbing is that the allowances are reflecting in the teachers’ bank accounts but no cash is available. It is also disheartening to note that students who started this term late are missing their lessons as teachers struggle to withdraw their money.”
Education Department officials said a speedy solution to the problem had to be found.
Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Gideon Gono refused to comment on the issue and Finance Minister, Tendai Biti could not be reached for comment.
Mr Biti is on record as saying that the State coffers were empty.
31 March, 2009
HONG KONG
Government on PS recruiting drive
The Hong Kong Government has embarked on a recruitment drive to attract 6,300 new Public Servants in the coming year, already signing up 1,400.
Secretary for the Civil Service, Denise Yue Chung-yee said the economic downturn had hit the job market in China’s Special Administrative Region with the unemployment rate rising to five per cent in the three months ending February. .
This is a sharp rise from 4.6 per cent in the November-to-January period and the highest in three years. According to the Census and Statistics Department, around 171,900 people are unemployed in the Territory.
The Government believes the unemployment rate will go up further in the near term. In the annual budget announced in February, it proposed to spend $HK1.6 billion ($A300 million) to create 62,000 employment and internship opportunities.
Meanwhile a new Government portal “GovHK” (www.gov.hk) has been officially launched to provide a one-stop Government online information service to the public.
Acting Financial Secretary, Frederick Ma said the launch of GovHK was a milestone in the development of e-government services in Hong Kong, marking a new citizen-centric approach in public service delivery.
Developed and managed by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, GovHK adopts a ‘service clustering’ approach to help the public find frequently-sought Government information and some 1200 e-government services.
31 March, 2009
KENYA
PS banned from private ventures
New laws are to be passed in Kenya to ban Public Servants from engaging in private business ventures while still in the Public Service.
Prime Minister, Raila Odinga said a draft policy was under development to ensure that Public Servants relinquished any business interests to devote their time and energy to their respective duties in the Public Sector.
He told the Euromoney investment conference in Nairobi that the State had proposed the review and subsequent upgrading of remuneration packages for Public Servants so that salaries became more attractive and ended the need for Public Servants to engage in private business ventures.
“Those who feel otherwise will have to quit their jobs to do their business on a full- time basis," he said.
“The Government is determined to pull out of commercial industry and play only the role of a facilitator and a regulator in the sector.”
Mr Odinga said the State had embarked on major infrastructure development initiatives to promote and open up the country to investment in a wider bid to stimulate economic growth.
"We want to woo local and foreign investors and that is why we have put special emphasis on infrastructure to reduce the cost of doing business, especially in the energy sector, which has been quite a challenge," he said.
The conference, officially launched by President Mwai Kibaki and attended by several Cabinet Ministers, facilitated meetings between the private sector and Government officials to deliberate on ways of removing impediments to investment in the country.
31 March, 2009
NEW ZEALAND
PS union questions private prison plan
Plans to privatise New Zealand prisons have drawn opposition from the Public Service Association which has argued that the proposed competitive tendering process could only cost the Government more.
“How can privately run prisons be more cost effective when they have the added costs of making a profit and having on-site monitors?” asked the national Secretary of the PSA, Richard Wagstaff.
The Corrections (Contract Management of Prisons) Bill 2009 has had its first reading in Parliament. The Bill amends the Corrections Act to allow competitive tendering for the contract management of prisons on a case-by-case basis.
Corrections Minister, Judith Collins said privatising prison management would be more cost effective, but she admitted on-site monitors would be appointed by the Corrections Department to report on serious incidents such as escapes, deaths and drug testing at privately-run prisons.
Mr Wagstaff said his contention was backed by overseas evidence.
“In Britain, 10 of the 11 private prisons are ranked in the bottom quarter of a league table covering 132 prisons,” he said.
“The privately-managed prisons in Britain score badly on security and maintaining order and control.”
He said questions are also being asked about the performance of private prisons in the United States, where the Bureau of Justice Assistance had found that cost-savings promised by private prisons “have simply not materialised.”
“So why is our Government continuing to turn a blind eye to all the evidence that private prisons are more expensive and provide a worse service?” Mr Wagstaff asked.
“Because it’s intent on privatising public services that will cost taxpayers more, cause cuts in services and deliver profits to foreign-owned companies,” he said.
31 March, 2009
UNITED KINGDOM
Union opposes plan to close London office
Plans to close the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) in North London and move 500 staff to other addresses in the city have encountered resistance from the Public and Commercial Services trade union (PCS).
The PCS claims the move would have a devastating effect on the local economy and the Public Service workers involved.
The OPG’s role is to support and promote decision-making for those who lack capacity to do it themselves, including mentally and physically disabled people. The majority of its clients live in the South of England and are visited by its officers.
If the move goes through they would have to phone call centres in Nottingham or Birmingham.
The Chair of the PCS’s Islington Branch, Phil Cosgrove, said the OPG was part of the Ministry of Justice, which had a regional pay structure.
“So if staff are relocated, workers will see their pay reduced,’ he said. “Relocation will also severely affect our black and Asian workforce.”
Mr Cosgrove said the Government had spent millions of pounds on upgrading the offices of the Ministry of Justice at 102 Petty France, in the London borough of Westminster.
“Now they want workers to pay the price,” he said.
“We are campaigning against this and believe we can get the Government to change its mind.”
31 March, 2009
CANADA
PSC under reports job figures
President of the Canadian Public Service Commission, Maria Barrados has revised upwards the number of minority group members employed in the Public Service, saying they were being hired at a greater rate than the labour force could provide.
Ms Barrados told the Senate's Human Rights Committee that the rate of hiring was double previously published figures.
She said miscalculations had resulted from the way minorities had been counted in the past and a more reliable measure revealed that 17.3 per cent of all hirings last year were minorities compared to previous estimates of 9.5 per cent.
Similarly, the hiring rate the year before was 15.6 per cent, nearly double the 8.6 per cent previously estimated, she said.
She said her statistics had been gathered from advertised job openings, which only accounted for about 72 per cent of all hirings into Government.
Ms Barrados told Senators she was confident her new numbers on the rate of hiring were more accurate, but she didn't have a firm number on how many minorities were now working in the Public Service.
“The Commission is working with the Government on a new measure and hopes to have a report ready next year,” she said
The Canadian Government has long been wrestling with how long it will take to close the widening gap between the growing population of minorities in Canada and the proportion who are employed in Federal jobs
Ms Barrados sounded the alarm more than a year ago when the Commission found the recruitment rate of minorities was falling, even though the overall hiring in Departments increased.
Last year, Canada's top Public Servant, the Privy Council Clerk, Kevin Lynch, ordered Departments to target minorities in the Government's next recruitment drive to hire another 4,000 university and college graduates.
24 March, 2009
CANADA
Anger rising over PS pensions
Discrepancies between the pension entitlements of Public Servants and those of workers in the private sector are reported to be creating friction in Canada.
The impact of the global financial crisis is only making the matter worse as the PS defined benefit scheme retains its value and others don’t.
According to an academic at the University of Western Ontario, Rick Robertson, the difference could lead to a decade of “jealousy, conflict and recrimination.”
"When you and I are getting far less in our pensions, and we are having higher taxes to cover the benefits of the other people, that's going to be a political issue...a massive challenge to resolve," Associate Professor Robertson said.
Toronto pension lawyer James Pierlot said the discrepancy in the value of pensions is huge.
He said a public-sector pension for a couple who earn $C50,000 ($A58,000) a year each beats by nearly $C1 million ($A1.7 million) what a couple working in the private sector and making the same money could save.
An actuary, Malcolm Hamilton used a different measure to illustrate the disparity and said any pension plan in today's climate that tried to replicate the benefits and security of a Federal Public Service plan would cost about 30 per cent of a contributor’s pay.
"There really is a severe imbalance between the retirement savings opportunities available to Public Servants and the savings opportunities available to people in the private sector,” Mr Hamilton said, “particularly with 80 per cent of the private sector with no defined-benefit pension plan.”
Pensions experts are in agreement that the focus of public policy should be on improving retirement security for the private sector. but they feared a long, deep recession could inflame public anger.
Consultant on pensions benefits, Bill Tufts, doesn’t think the situation will become confrontational or violent.
“But there is going to be a lot of pressure for change in the system,” Mr Tufts said. “What we need is leadership that can address the issue."
24 March, 2009
NEW ZEALAND
PS ordered to cuts costs by 10%
The heads of all Government Departments and Agencies in New Zealand have been ordered to come up with cost-cutting savings of 10 per cent.
Finance Minister, Bill English has written to all Chief Executives saying they should "identify spending that delivers the lowest value for money - say the bottom five per cent and 10 per cent."
In guidelines attached to the letter, the Minister suggested Chief Executives consider the growth in the size of their Departments in recent years.
The State Services Spokesman for the Opposition Labour Party, Grant Robertson said the Government had been misleading the public over its plans for the public sector and had a long-term agenda of cutting back on public services.
“Aside from the loss of public services, is the issue of the loss of jobs,” Mr Robertson said.
“At the same time the Government is talking about saving jobs, it is working to axe jobs held by those providing public services.
He said people working in the Public Service had families and mortgages just like every other New Zealander.
“Why was the Government intent on treating them like second class citizens?” he asked.
The Public Service Association said PS jobs were already disappearing and the Government was cutting into muscle - not fat.
24 March, 2009
INDONESIA
Election campaign leaves PS understaffed
An assurance from the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that Public Servants would be given leave to campaign in the country’s upcoming legislative elections has created major concerns across the Public Service.
Adviser to the State Minister for Administrative Reform, Deddy Bratakusumah said that 20 per cent of all Public Servants had asked for leave for the purpose.
“The Government will not work effectively with many officials on leave campaigning,” Mr Deddy said.
“It will be difficult for some Government institutions to make decisions on new or ongoing projects, meaning they will likely be delayed.”
He said the potential problems were exacerbated by more than 6,000 Public Servants resigning to contest the Legislative elections, which take place on 5 April.
Political Observer with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Ikrar Nusa Bakti said public services could not be managed with so many officials absent.
“When Government institutions need decisions made on important issues, who will be responsible?” Ikrar said.
Home Minister, Perda Syariat Mardiyanto said that among the many officially requesting leave to campaign in the elections were almost120 senior State officials, including 11 Governors and seven Deputy Governors.
Mr Mardiyanto said the absences would not lead to vacant administrations because deputies were ready to fill in for the regional heads.
“While on leave, the regional heads will maintain communications and coordination with the Central Government,” he said.
24 March, 2009
UNITED STATES
Military campaign to beat sex assaults
The United States Defense Department has launched a worldwide media campaign to reduce incidents of sexual assault within the ranks of the military.
Part of the campaign features a 20-second TV announcement showing still pictures of male and female service members with a male voice-over saying, "preventing sexual assault is part of my duty."
The campaign follows a Congressional report that examined sexual assault allegations in the military and set policies for reducing incidents.
Director of the Defense Department’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, Kaye Whitley said sexual assault remained one of the US’s most under-reported crimes in both the military and civilian community.
"The Department has been aggressively pursuing efforts to increase reporting and convince more victims to seek care and support services," Dr Whitley said
"Our goal is to strengthen the knowledge and the skills of service members and empower them to identify and safely intervene in situations that may lead up to sexual assault.”
She said an average of one in six women and one in 32 men in the United States experience some form of sexual assault in their lifetime.
"We have a 24-hour system in place to respond to sexual assaults," she said.
“The response coordinator supports the victim through every step of the process, including medical care, counselling and other services.
Sexual assaults can be lodged through either ‘unrestricted’ or ‘restricted’ reports. A ‘restricted’ report protects the anonymity of the victim but does not lead to a criminal investigation.
Of the 2,923 reports of sexual assault lodged in the military in the year to June 2008, 2,280 were unrestricted, while 643 were restricted, according to the Congressional report.
24 March, 2009
SOUTH AFRICA
Dubious payout prompts study of GBEs
The South African Government has reacted vigorously to a decision by the Board of South African Airways to reach a generous financial settlement with its embattled Chief Executive, Khaya Nqula.
The Government-owned airline is reported to have reached the settlement in the face of serious allegations of misconduct and the South African Cabinet has now ordered a report on all of its State owned enterprises and the problems they are facing.
Government Spokesperson, Themba Maseko said the Government’s preference had been that Mr Nqula should have remained on leave whilst the allegations were being investigated.
“The Cabinet has asked the Minister of Public Enterprises to seek an urgent audience with the Board to establish the reasons for, and the details of, the settlement,” Mr Maseko said.
“The Government wants to take steps to ensure that State enterprises, especially those that are under-performing and continue to receive cash injections from the State, do not utilise those resources to pay large bonuses to non-performing managers.”
Mr Maseko said it had also been decided that the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) should submit a report on the state of affairs at the national airline to Cabinet at its next sitting.
“This report must look at issues of governance, management and the reasons for the reported under-performance of the airline,” he said
Further, the DPE was instructed to prepare a report on all State-owned enterprises with a view to addressing all the problems that are being experienced by the entities.
“Cabinet believes that these enterprises are valuable assets to the South African taxpayer and play a key role in the economy,” Mr Maseko said.
“It is therefore important that urgent steps are taken to ensure that they perform effectively.”
He said a report would be tabled at the next Cabinet meeting.
A progress report on the framework of a plan to deal with conflict of interest in the Public Service was noted. The framework will be brought back to Cabinet as soon as it is finalised.
24 March, 2009
CANADA
Performance pay dropped
Public Servants in the Canadian province of Alberta are to be denied their performance pay next financial year as part of the Government’s response to the global financial crisis.
Provincial Premier, Ed Stelmach said the bonuses, which are opposed by Opposition members, would be suspended, but the Province will still pay more than $C40 million ($A47 million) as bonuses to 6,100 Public Servants for the 12 months ending 31 March.
Public Servants were also expected to receive a five per cent pay rise on April 1. The Government had previously announced that politicians and appointed political staff will not get the increase.
Now Mr Stelmach says that if the recession continues, it may be necessary to sit down with union leaders and other members of the Public Sector to discuss further actions to enable the Government to balance its books.
“As we proceed it may be a different story,” he said. “We’ll have to watch the revenues and expenditures very carefully... We may have to approach everyone to contribute to balancing the Budget.”
The Premier said the bonus program dates back to 1999 when management level officers in the Alberta Public Service were underpaid in comparison to other Provinces.
At that time the Government implemented the recommendations of a private-sector committee to adopt a bonus system to reward senior managers who met debt reduction goals.
24 March, 2009
WALES
PS wages at mercy of shrinking Budget
Public Service wage claims in Wales are likely to be impacted by the Government’s Budgetary position in the years ahead, according to the Welsh Assembly Government Minister with responsibility for public service delivery.
Finance Minister, Andrew Davies said that pay rates in the public sector would necessarily be at the mercy of Budgetary constraints which could last a decade.
Mr Davis said the sustained period of real growth in the Assembly’s Budget was now over.
“Officials conduct pay negotiations with unions, but clearly the state of public finances, as well as the economic position and the rate of inflation, will all be considered,” Mr Davis said.
“A lot of public sector settlements in Wales will be negotiated at a United Kingdom level, but clearly it is a very changed economic climate and context than it was a year ago, let alone two or three.”
He said some public sector wage deals have already been struck.
Under a three-year deal last year National Health Service staff are to receive pay rises of two to three per cent this year and next and similar deals have been negotiated by teachers.
A senior Public Servant who didn’t want to be named said: “The feeling is that we are not anticipating any salary increases next year and certainly an end to any performance related bonuses.”
Mr Davies said the next five years – and perhaps the next 10 – were not going to be good for growth.
“In the first four years of the [Welsh] Assembly –1999-2003 – we had annual real growth in our Budget of seven per cent,” he said.
“During the second four years it was four per cent and for the current spending review period which ends in 2010-11, it is 1.8 per cent.
He said the old orthodoxies had broken down, but this gave Wales the chance to think about new ways of working “which reconnects with an older political and intellectual tradition which goes back 200 years in Wales”.
24 March, 2009
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Redundancies criticised by Union
The forced redundancies of 2,175 Public Servants in Trinidad and Tobago has resulted in threats of industrial action and a loss of trust between the PS union and Minister for Finance.
The 2,175 were all the officers of the island nation’s Customs and Excise Division and Inland Revenue and their removal is to make way for the formation of a new Trinidad and Tobago Revenue Authority (TTRA.)
President of the Public Service Association (PSA), Jennifer Baptiste-Primus, said after a two-hour meeting with Finance Minister, Karen Nunez-Tesheira, that she could no longer trust the Minister.
“The Minister came there with her agenda, as she said, to move the process forward,” Ms Baptiste-Primus said.
“While the PSA and the Government had agreed to offer the workers three options, including transfer to the TTRA, transfer to other areas of the Civil Service, or Voluntary Separation from Employment Packages (VSEP), the Minister said those options were only ‘proposals’.”
Ms Baptiste-Primus said she had told the Minister “in no uncertain terms” that the union did not trust her.
“This is a betrayal. It cannot be described in any other way,” she said.
She said all the members of the PSA “will be out on the streets within the next two weeks to send a signal to the Government that they cannot treat workers so.
“However, the Association remains open to discussion on the matter concerning the three options as outlined in the draft (TTRA) bill.”
In a further development the National Union of Federated Government Workers (NUGFW), which represents casual workers of the Customs and Excise Division and Inland Revenue, delivered a letter to the Minister complaining that it is yet to be formally brought to the table to discuss the setting up of the TTRA.
At the same time, the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) expressed support for the PSA. The TTUTA said the Government had “failed to be entirely transparent in this matter”.
24 March, 2009
UNITED STATES
Defense personnel scheme to be reviewed
The personnel system that replaced the traditional Public Service rules for employees of the US Defense Department is to be reviewed.
Established three years ago to free security and Defense staff from the limitations of the Public Service, the National Security Personnel System rewards employees on a pay-for-performance basis, rather than the former, more traditional PS-based system of recognising length of service.
The review is to be conducted by the Department of Defense to decide if the NSPS is fair and transparent for the employees it covers.
Plans to transfer 3,000 further Defense Department civilians into the scheme are to be delayed until the review is finalised.
Executive Officer for the NSPS in the Department, Brad Bunn, said Deputy Defence Secretary, William Lynn would direct the review.
“[The review] will look at the [NSPS] system in a comprehensive manner, to understand how it has been operating, and to chart a path forward,” Mr Bunn said.
He said more than 200,000 Defense Department civilians who have been transferred into the NSPS since the system began three years ago will continue to operate under current policies and procedures.
The NSPS was developed as part of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s program to transform the way the Department does business.
Mr Bunn said the NSPS represented a significant change in how the Defense Department hired, paid, compensated and rewarded civilian employees who supported the national security mission in the Department of Defense.
“There are varying viewpoints that exist out there on NSPS,” he said.
“Internal surveys indicate that some Defense employees are unhappy with NSPS, particularly with regard to performance evaluations.”
The move has come following pressure from Federal employee unions, Members of Congress and President Barack Obama himself, who during his election campaign said he would “strongly consider a complete repeal" or at least an extensive overhaul of the NSPS.
Some critics fear the system could, at some point, hold down wages for civilian military personnel.
Union leaders welcomed the review but said the move does not go far enough. President of the National Federation of Federal Employees, Richard Brown said his organisation was “still committed to repealing NSPS this year."
24 March, 2009
JAMAICA
8-year-old PS dispute nearing end
An industrial dispute involving Public Servants in Jamaica claiming increased pay following a series of job reviews has been going on for eight years.
In the latest effort to resolve the marathon disagreement, Labour Minister, Pearnel Charles asked the Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT) to intervene in the stand-off which involves unions representing workers of the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) and its management.
The Minister also sought a 28-day injunction from the Supreme Court to bar workers from going on strike.
He said it will be the second time the dispute has gone before the IDT.
"This time it is for the Tribunal to rule on the settlement that was arrived at by the parties," he said.
"We expect the Tribunal to listen to both parties and interpret the document and hand down a decision which we expect will finally conclude the issue."
In May 2008, JPS and the unions arrived at an agreement under the Job Evaluation and Compensation Review, which saw the company paying out a sum of approximately $J3.5 billion ($A500,000), $J1.2 billion ($190,000) of which was paid towards taxes on the workers’ behalf. The remainder went to the employees.
However, since the payout, the four unions representing workers at the JPS are contending that the employees are also owed for overtime work and redundancy adjustments for the 2001-2007 period. This is being resisted by the company.
17 March, 2009
UNITED KINGDOM
PS Leader criticises US organisers
Britain’s most senior Public Servant has complained that the new United States Administration is proving “unbelievably difficult” in the lead-up to the G20 summit in London next month.
Cabinet Secretary to the British Government, Sir Gus O’Donnell, said that the lengthy establishment process of President Obama’s Administration was hindering discussions about the meeting.
British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown hopes the summit, on 2 April, will produce a coordinated global strategy to tackle the economic downturn.
So far, his attempts to get his American and European allies to agree to a coherent common platform for the meeting have proved frustrating.
The G20 represents not only the traditional G7 economic giants, but Australia, the European Union and emerging economic powers such as China and Brazil
Sir Gus said the Government was having trouble even getting in touch with key personnel at the US Treasury Department.
“There is nobody there,” he told a Public Service conference in Gateshead. “You cannot believe how difficult it is.”
His comments come after the British Government was left frustrated by the White House’s handling of Mr Brown’s recent visit.
The Prime Minister’s aides were left scrambling when the President's staff changed press arrangements at the 11th hour.
Sir Gus's remarks appear to confirm the problems Mr Obama has faced in getting his Administration staffed and up to speed during the worst economic crisis in decades with reports claiming US Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner is operating virtually alone as the 17 deputies his Department is supposed to have yet to be appointed.
Sir Gus criticised the American system of new Administrations appointing their own senior Public Servants as “absolute madness”.
However, a spokesman for Mr Brown said Sir Gus’s remarks should be put in the context of an address to a Public Service conference.
“He was explaining the benefits of the British system of having a permanent Civil Service and the benefits that brought when there was a change of administration,” the Spokesman said.
Asked why Sir Gus’s remarks had been removed from the Civil Service Network website, the Spokesman that was a question for the Cabinet Office.
The Spokesman said all indications were that the US Administration was fully engaged on the G20 agenda.
17 March, 2009
WALES
PS called on to take more risks
The Public Service in Wales has been criticised for failing to take enough risks.
Former chairman of the Welsh Development Agency, Sir Roger Jones said more Public Servants should spend time in the private sector to teach them what risk-taking was all about.
Risk aversion is hindering growth and the creation of business opportunities in Wales and this could be avoided by giving politicians and leading Public Servants more experience in the private sector, Sir Roger said.
“You can gather knowledge about how a business works and how to make money from the hundreds of books on how to be successful,” he said
“Unfortunately, unless you have been there and wept about your inability to pay staff salaries through lack of cash, you cannot understand how a business works.”
Sir Roger, who founded a pharmaceutical company, argued that the private and public sectors need to work more closely together.
“Those in the private and public sectors are totally divorced from each other,” he said. “There are good people in the public sector whose hearts are in the right place and who want entrepreneurs to succeed.”
“That said, there remains a systemic failure to take risks whereas the private sector is about controlled risk and being prepared to take decisions on the spot.”
Sir Roger said that in the Public Service, decisions tended to be postponed to the point when it was no longer necessary to take them.
His views were echoed by Chief Executive of the Welsh Local Government Association, Steve Thomas who said there should be a new era of dialogue between the two sectors in key areas such as planning and procurement – to ensure the economy was best placed to maximise the upturn when it came.
He said the private sector still viewed public sector colleagues as being too bureaucratic and risk averse, while the private sector was seen as “pirates”.
17 March, 2009
UNITED STATES
$1M backpay for unfair dismissal
A former State Government employee in the US State of Illinois has won over $1 million in backpay for being unfairly dismissed from Government service in 1992.
After a 17-year legal battle, a Supreme Court jury found that the employee, now 72 and living in Florida, had been wrongfully dismissed and ordered she be reinstated at the Department of Senior Citizen Affairs and back-paid $US1.1 million ($A1.7 million). The award didn’t include interest, accumulated sick or recreation leave or superannuation.
A jury found Roberta Miller was laid off in 1992 because she was a Democrat in a Republican Administration.
The Court ruled that Ms Miller was entitled to 17 years of back pay and reinstatement to her Public Service job as a special program coordinator.
The jury decided the State Government had "acted in bad faith in discharging her based on her political affiliation".
Ms Miller’s lawyer, Louis Stober, who also represents the Civil Service Employees Association, said the verdict vindicated her fight for justice and proved that when exposed to the bright light of a jury's impartial scrutiny, decisions based on patronage will not stand.
A Government spokeswoman said it was “exploring options" in response to the verdict.
Ms Miller, who is now retired, had worked for the Government for eight years. She originally sued the Government in 1992 with eight other employees who contended they had been improperly laid off or demoted. Unlike Ms Miller, the others did not claim political discrimination.
The other eight settled in 2005 for one year's pay plus 15 years' interest, totalling about $US100,000 (SA163,000) each.
Mr Stober said the case took so long because the courts first waited for the other cases to be decided.
17 March, 2009
FIJI
PS retirement age down to 55
The retirement age for Public Servants in Fiji has been lowered from 60 to 55 as a result of a ruling in the Fiji Court of Appeals.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) tried to introduce the measure two years ago but the High Court found it unconstitutional and discriminatory.
An appeal by the Public Service Commission and the Attorney-General's Office has now confirmed the policy.
The dispute dates back to when the Public Service Commission reduced the mandatory retirement age for Public Servants, resulting in the Fijiian Teachers Association (FTA) and the Fiji Public Service Association (FPSA) taking the matter to Court.
High Court Judge, Filimoni Jitoko found in their favour but his decision has now been overturned on appeal.
The three-member appeal panel ruled the issue was not whether the PSC had the power to impose compulsory retirement, because the Public Service conditions of employment allow for PSC to change work conditions at its discretion.
"The argument is about whether it should be imposed at age 55 as opposed to 60," the panel said.
The PSC and the Attorney-General's Office were represented by lawyers, Sharvada Sharma and Mere Rakuita while FTA and the FPSA were represented by lawyers, Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi and Hemendra Nagin.
17 March, 2009
UNITED KINGDOM
Websites launched to rate public services
A program of creating new websites to allow members of the community to rate public services has been proposed in a policy paper prepared for the British Government.
Aimed primarily at police, doctors and Local Councils, the websites would follow the example of big internet players such as eBay and Amazon, who Prime Minister, Gordon Brown said embraced customer feedback.
The plans outlined in a document entitled Working Together, are supported by Mr Brown who called them an "information revolution".
“People take it for granted that they will access other people's reviews and ratings before buying something on eBay or Amazon, and yet we do not yet have systematic access to other people's experiences when choosing a GP practice or nursery," Mr Brown said.
The first site to be rolled out will compare Council services. It is expected to be ready by May.
Spokesman for the British Medical Association, Hamish Meldrum attacked the proposal saying it treated patients like supermarket customers.
“Doctors are doing more than providing an easily-rated commodity,” he said
"The suggestion that your treatment in the National Health Service (NHS) can be as easily rated as a stay in a hotel is simplistic.”
“There is a risk that this exercise could reduce NHS care to a meaningless popularity contest, encouraging perverse behaviours and an emphasis on the superficial."
17 March, 2009
NEW ZEALAND
More PS cutbacks claimed
The Government of New Zealand has been accused of planning to cut jobs from its Ministry of Justice.
Opposition Spokesman on State Services, Grant Robertson made the accusation in Parliament, saying the cuts would be made to frontline staff.
“Not only is [the governing] National [Party] breaking its promise of not cutting Public Service numbers it is now looking at cutting frontline staff as well,” Mr Robertson said
The discovery of potential cut backs at the Justice Department comes after announcements of staff cuts at the Ministry for Environment, Tertiary Education Commission, and possible cuts at the Ministry of Social Development and the National Library.
Mr Robertson said the Government had held a Jobs Summit aiming to protect and even develop jobs, yet Public Servants were being made redundant.
“It’s clear that the National Government regards Public Servants as second-class citizens who are easily dispensed with,” he said
“What they fail to recognise is that these Public Servants are people who have children to support, mortgages to pay and food to buy.”
“These people are ordinary New Zealanders doing the best for their families, but the Government is certainly not doing its best for them.”
Mr Robertson said the Government had broken its promise to cap but not cut the Public Service and was breaking the promise it made at the Jobs Summit to promote and protect jobs.
17 March, 2009
RUSSIA
Anti-corruption campaign launched
Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev has launched a major reform program for the national Public Service in a concerted drive to uncover and eliminate corruption.
The four-year program includes the establishment of a new system to manage the Public Service, involving the introduction of effective technology and modern methods of human resources operations and increasing the efficiency and professionalism of Public Servants.
Russian Prosecutor General, Yury Chaika said recently that some 3,700 corruption-related criminal cases had been opened in Russia during 2008.
President Medvedev made the fight against corruption one of his top priorities soon after his inauguration last May, signing a decree just two weeks after he was sworn in to set up a Presidential Anti-Corruption Council.
He approved a plan to counter the problem in July, proposing that special units be created in every branch of Government.
In line with the plan, Russian military officers, customs officials, judges and police would also have to make full declarations of their assets.
Corruption in Russia is now so widespread it has reached the top levels of Government and diplomacy.
In October 2007, a Russian named Vladimir Kuznetsov appeared in a New York City courtroom and was sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of $US73,000 ($A111,000) for his role in a massive corruption conspiracy at the United Nations, where he had been the head of the international body’s Committee for Administrative and Budgetary Issues.
Mr Kuznetsov’s bribe-taking from companies seeking lucrative UN procurement contracts was so virulent the UN took the dramatic step of rescinding his diplomatic immunity and allowing him to be prosecuted in the United States.
17 March, 2009
TAIWAN
Chairman defends PS pension fund
The Chairman of Taiwan’s Public Service Pension Fund is resisting moves by the Department of Finance to restructure the Fund’s investment platform to allow it to invest in major public infrastructure works.
Chang Che-shen told the Taiwan Legislature's Judicial Affairs Commission that he would not agree to the Pension Fund being used for the Finance projects.
Under the Finance plan, some $NT14 trillion (about $A6 billion) could be drawn from major State-run funds to be used on major construction as a way for Taiwan to fund its way out of the global economic crisis.
Mr Chang argued before the Commission that existing channels of investment already worked well.
He Chang said he didn't oppose spending the Pension Fund money on public construction projects in the event it had a surplus available, but communication had to be clear.
He said the Fund was not headed for bankruptcy, as some lawmakers feared, even though it had recorded a net loss of more than NT$86 billion ($A3.80 billion) by the end of last year and NT$2 billion ($A10 million) in January.
Mr Chang asked lawmakers to give him more time to put the situation right, though he didn't exclude tendering his resignation.
He said the Fund was ready to increase investment in the stock market if the economy was looking up in the second and third quarters of the year.
The Government has forecast that Taiwan's economy might see an improvement by the end of the year even though exports had dropped sharply while unemployment was rising.
17 March, 2009
PHILIPPINES
Ombudsman in more trouble
Opponents of Philippines Ombudsman, Merceditas Gutierrez have launched another offensive in their campaign to have the embattled official watchdog sacked.
Last week PS News reported that the Ombudsman was facing impeachment in the Philippine House of Representatives, and this week those out to get her have raised a legal technicality in her appointment.
According to Senator Francis Escudero, Ms Gutierraaz has only seven months left in her job since she was appointed on the resignation of a former Ombudsman.
“Merceditas Gutierrez must step down on 31 October this year after serving the unexpired term of her predecessor,” Senator Escudero said, quoting a 1955 Supreme Court decision.
However, Assistant Ombudsman, Jose de Jesus Jr. said Senator Escudero was wrong.
“Under the Constitution, the Ombudsman and his or her deputies shall only serve for seven years without the benefit of reappointment in the same position,” he said.
When the previous Ombudsman resigned in 2005, President Gloria Arroyo gave Gutierrez a new mandate. “Her term is fixed to seven years,” he said.
But Senator Escudero said the Ombudsman had a fixed term of seven years, not the person occupying the post.
“Therefore, to say that Gutierrez has only until October 2009 to serve as Ombudsman rests on firm and solid legal basis,” he said.
“This is a Supreme Court decision and all of us must follow the rule of law. I hope she makes the most out of her remaining days in office by sending the biggest crooks in Government to jail.”
17 March, 2009
IRELAND
Taxes up, welfare down to beat crisis
The Government of Ireland plans to cut social welfare payments and put tax rates up as its response to the global economic crisis.
It has already imposed a pension levy on Public Servants.
The Government has indicated it plans to increase the top and bottom rates of tax by two per cent and introduce a new super tax for high earners when it brings down next month's mini-Budget.
Workers will be hit by well over €1 billion (SA1.96 billion) in extra tax levies in the mini-Budget with lower-paid workers, previously exempt from tax, certain to be brought into the net.
However, raising tax rates this far into a new tax year raises its own problems so the Government is likely to compensate by increasing income and health levies on a temporary basis until they can be replaced by more conventional tax rate rises in December's Budget.
Close consideration is also being given to lowering, or even scrapping the threshold at which workers have to pay the two levies.
There is a consensus that the current system whereby 40 per cent of income earners pay no tax, will have to end.
Additional measures expected in the mini-Budget include substantial increases in the duty on cigarettes, alcohol and petrol.
The €3 billion ($A5.88 billion) a year lost in revenue through tax relief on pensions is likely to come under scrutiny, although the fear within Government is that scrapping this relief would destroy the entire private sector pension system, leaving everyone relying on a State pension.
Cuts in the rate of social welfare have not been ruled out because of the huge savings they could generate. One possibility could be a scrapping of the traditional Christmas bonus payment.
A senior Government figure admitted there would be pain.
“Let's hope there's some gain [because] there is simply no choice,” the Government representative said.
“There is no easy way out of this."
10 March, 2009
UNITED KINGDOM
PS labelled unfit for its purpose
The UK Civil Service has been labelled unaccountable and not transparent with a leading think tank arguing that PS deficiencies were harming policy delivery.
The group ‘Reform’ said the Public Service was “not fit for purpose” and called for Ministers to have a say in the appointment of top officials.
Cabinet Office Minister Liam Byrne said accountability must be "sharpened" but warned about politicising the Public Service.
Speaking at a seminar organised by Reform, Mr Byrne said there were "big debates" to be had about whether Ministers should have direct authority over appointing top officials.
"Obviously there are questions to ensure how we safeguard against politicisation of the Civil Service, which is a constitutional principle that has to be preserved," he said.
A report prepared by Reform said the party that won the next General Election would face the need to make “root-and-branch” changes to the structure and culture of the Public Service.
It said changes were necessary to achieve lasting improvements in the delivery of public services.
The report said there was little accountability at any level of the Public Service. In addition innovation and new thinking were not rewarded.
Reform urged the Government to adopt the Australian practice of allowing the Prime Minister to appoint the head of each Department after consultation with Ministers.
In addition, Ministers should be able to draw on advice from outside the Public Service by bringing in their own Private Secretaries and special advisers.
Reform said the current doctrine of Ministerial responsibility for policy should be abolished to make officials directly responsible for how decisions are formulated and for failures in implementing them properly.
It said recruitment at all levels of the Public Service must be opened up, with all jobs advertised externally; flexible contracts should be encouraged with managers able to offer key staff incentives.
Co-author of the report, Greg Rosen said successive Governments have put Public Service reform on the back burner.
“Ministers and aspirant Ministers need to realise that Whitehall [Public Service] reform is a precondition for success in other areas," he said.
10 March, 2009
UNITED STATES
PS job growth for Obama spend-up
The United States Government may need to hire up to 250,000 extra Federal Public Servants if it is to implement the President Barack Obama’s policies and ward off the excesses of the economic crisis.
The prediction was made by the conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation. Other estimates have put the jobs boost at around 100,000.
There is general agreement however that the President’s ambitious proposals, which include new spending on health care, energy independence, education and services for veterans, will require tens of thousands of new Federal Government workers.
The $US3.6 trillion ($A5.6 trillion) plan proposes spending billions to begin initiatives and implement existing programs. Given President Obama’s insistence on scaling back the use of private-sector contractors, this will reverse a generational decline in the size of the Government workforce.
Administration officials said overall hiring projections would have to wait until the President’s full Budget is released later in the year.
Budget Director at the White House, Peter Orszag said it was premature to be making any assumptions about Federal employment levels.
“We have no desire to bloat bureaucracy — indeed, just the opposite — and the Budget will not do that.”
However, he admitted that in several key areas – “from properly auditing contracts to providing quality medical care to veterans and reducing errors in Medicare and other programs”- investing in skilled professionals would immediately deliver better service to taxpayers.
Officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs said they expected to hire more than 17,000 new employees by the end of the year, many at hospitals and other facilities to fulfill President Obama’s pledge to expand veterans’ access to health care.
President of the Partnership for Public Service, Max Stier likened the spending to a “new world...When you look at virtually every agency in Government…we’ve had all too few people doing the business of government”.
Professor of Public Service at New York University, Paul C. Light said President Obama was caught between a rock and a hard place after inheriting a Federal workforce of about two million that was “woefully understaffed, especially to fulfill his bold domestic policy agenda”.
President of the National Treasury Employees Union, Colleen M. Kelley said the Administration appeared to be “rebuilding workforces that have not been properly maintained and supported”.
As an example she said the Internal Revenue Service was dealing with “hundreds of thousands more taxpayers today than there were 10 years ago, and there are 27,000 fewer employees”.
10 March, 2009
PHILIPPINES
Ombudsman faces impeachment
The Philippines Ombudsman has been threatened with impeachment before the nation’s House of Representatives.
The Ombudsman, Merceditas Gutierrez has been accused of looking after the powerful and corrupt instead of defending the rights of the ordinary citizen.
The complaint has been filed by former Senate President, Jovito Salonga and 30 other prominent citizens. Mr Salonga said they had a strong case.
“Since Congressmen are facing an election next year, we hope they will show some measure of independence and competence,” Mr Salonga said.
Ms Gutierrez said she had not violated any principles that would require her to step down claiming she had a mandate and a duty to serve her countrymen.
Under House of Representatives impeachment rules, Speaker, Prospero Nograles has 10 session days to refer the case to the Committee on Justice.
The case will not get to the Committee until after Congress returns from its month-long Lenten break on 12 April and then the committee has 60 session days to finish hearings on the complaint and submit its report back to the House.
Opposition parties in the House are unsure whether to support the impeachment complaint.
The complainants accused Ms Gutierrez of gross incompetence, betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution.
They say public trust in the anti-graft agency had collapsed since President Gloria Arroyo named Ms Gutierrez as Ombudsman in December, 2005.
“[The Office of the Ombudsman] has become synonymous to inaction, mishandling or downright dismissal of clear cases of graft and corruption, some leading to the President herself or her closest associates,” the complaint said.
10 March, 2009
PAKISTAN
Judges appeal against their own appointments
Fifty-nine Judges in the Pakistani Province of Peshawar have unsuccessfully challenged their appointment by the Public Service Commission (PSC).
The Peshawar High Court dismissed the Judges’ combined petition finding the Government did have the power to appoint Civil Judges in consultation with the High Court.
The aggrieved 59 argued that the appointment of Judges by the PSC was not only against the law but would also affect the independence of the judiciary.
Representing the 59, petitioner lawyer Yahya Afridi submitted that Judges were not Public Servants, but their appointment was framed under the Civil Servants Act for Civil Judges’ Appointment, which was illegal and unconstitutional.
He told the court that Civil Judges should be appointed through the Civil Courts Ordinance 1962.
However, the Additional Advocate General for the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Zahid Yousaf Qureshi defended the Government’s decision to make Civil Judges’ appointments through the Public Service Commission. He submitted that Section 8 of the Civil Courts Ordinance 1962 empowered the Government to appoint Civil Judges in consultation with the High Court.
He said the Judges were appointed on one-year contracts and remained beneficiaries of the NWFP Judicial Service Rules 2001, but when their contract period was going to expire, they challenged it.
Justice Shahji Rahim, one of the two Presiding Judges in the case, remarked that the petitioners filed the writ petition against the rules under which they were still holding posts of Civil Judges, which was illegal.
The Court dismissed the writ petition.
10 March, 2009
GUYANA
Union opposes PS lie detector tests
The union representing Public Servants in Guyana has vowed to defend its members in the Guyana Revenue Authority being threatened with lie-detector tests to stamp out alleged misconduct.
The Guyana Public Service Union said similar testing in the Customs Department in 2008 led to the dismissal of all workers who were tested.
In a statement, the GPSU said it had been notified that selected workers have been issued with letters signed by GRA Commissioner-General, Khurshid Sattaur for lie-detector testing. It had condemned the 2008 action when workers of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) were tested, and it condemns this case as well.
“The Guyana Public Service Union stands firm in 2009 with regards to the use of polygraphing of certain workers of the GRA in an attempt to determine whether they are guilty of misconduct,” a GPSU statement said.
In a letter to Mr Sattaur the GPSU has requested that the letters issued to selective workers of the GRA be withdrawn.
“The GPSU also indicated in its letter to Sattaur that the Union will bring this matter to the attention of international institutions which have mandates to secure and protect human and workers’ rights,” the union’s statement said.
“It is of the view of the union that it may well be that there is a greater case for applying polygraph tests to those who are policy makers.”
The move to subject the Public Servants to lie detector testing has been welcomed by Commissioner of Police, Henry Greene.
10 March, 2009
NEW ZEALAND
Jobs go in second wave of cuts
A cost-cutting exercise ordered by the New Zealand Government is expected to cost more than 70 jobs at the Tertiary Education Commission just three years after an earlier review saw 86 jobs go.
According to the Public Service Association the cuts include jobs created following the last review.
The proposals for cutting the number of full-time equivalent employees from 364 to 292.5 have been presented to staff by TEC Chief Executive Roy Sharp as part of a consultation process.
Chief Executives across the PS were summoned to meetings with Finance Minister, Bill English after an earlier round of cost-cutting failed to produce enough savings.
Prime Minister, John Key has said any savings will be ploughed into new services but did not reveal the size of savings being sought across the wider Public Service.
Mr Sharp said the reforms at TEC reflect the need to find value for money, but PSA National Secretary, Brenda Pilott said it would result in a big increase in the workload of remaining staff.
She said staff already had a huge job allocating more than $3 billion to 730 tertiary education organisations.
The Opposition Labour Party criticised the cuts saying the Government had promised to cap, not reduce job numbers in the Public Service.
Tertiary Education spokesperson, Maryan Street said they threatened the important work of the TEC.
“These are the very organisations which New Zealand is going to turn to more and more as the recession deepens, to up-skill New Zealanders and fit them for a smarter, more productive economy when we come out of the recession,” Ms Street said
10 March, 2009
CANADA
Working hours cut to save PS jobs
Public Servants in the Canadian Province of British Columbia are being asked to voluntarily reduce their working hours to save money and prevent jobs being cut from the Public Service.
Contained in a discussion paper circulated by the Government, the proposal would see some of its 30,000 employees allowed to reduce the number of days they work per week, especially during summer months and at Christmas.
The plans has been given a cautious welcome by the BC Government and Service Employees’ Union (GSEU).
Government workers are already allowed to request unpaid days under their collective agreements, but requests have rarely been granted in the past.
Now, with the Province in deficit and the Public Service projected to shrink by one-third by 2015, the idea has resurfaced. No final decision has been made.
Minister Responsible for Public Service Development, Murray Coell said employees voluntarily limiting work hours could help reduce the need for job cuts, although he was quick to characterise layoffs as “the last thing that will be considered.”
A Government discussion paper estimates the Province spends $65 million every two weeks on salaries and $5 million on overtime.
Most front-line staff, such as mental health and child protection workers, would not qualify for work reduction, but if eligible employees - about 57 per cent of the Public Service - took one additional day off per week, the Province would save $37 million every two weeks, or roughly the salaries and benefits for 370 full-time positions.
The discussion paper outlines three potential voluntary options for employees: Eliminating Friday workdays between July and September; allowing three unpaid days to extend the break between Christmas and New Year; and permanently allowing unpaid days.
GSEU President, Darryl Walker said the union was supportive of any change that would avoid layoffs.
He praised the Government for exploring solutions, but was concerned about increasing workloads and employee benefits.
10 March, 2009
KUWAIT
Nurses and pharmacists take action
Nurses and pharmacists employed by the Kuwait Civil Service Commission have threatened to escalate industrial action in support of claims for increased pay and improved conditions.
The move follows the refusal of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to address nurses’ pay concerns, despite approving pay rises for other professions.
Head of the Kuwait Nursing Association (KNA), Bassel Al-Azmi said nurses were ready to take stronger action over the pay issue if the CSC continued to ignore their demands.
The KNA also criticised a Government move to merge the Doctors Association with a Consultative Council at the Ministry of Health.
Head of the Kuwait Pharmacists Society, Tariq Al Habib also warned of strike action if the poor employment opportunities currently faced by Kuwaiti pharmacists continued.
Dr Al Habib said the society had repeatedly warned the relevant official bodies against neglecting its members' needs, but the warnings had apparently fallen on deaf ears.
The Ministry of Health currently employs less than 200 Kuwaiti pharmacists.
The KNA backed the pharmacists saying nurses and pharmacists were as important to future healthcare development as other medical professionals and should also have a seat at the top table of negotiations.
10 March, 2009
UNITED STATES
Senior appointments hit vetting hurdle
The appointment of senior Government officials in the Obama Administration has slowed to a crawl as an intensified vetting process creates a bottleneck of unconfirmed nominees.
The drawn-out process has placed dozens of potentially senior staff in limbo, cut off from their prospective Departments and unavailable to serve or perform their duties.
Stung by early embarrassments, the White House has appointed an army of investigators to check on potential new staff, demanding years-old receipts from business trips, examining minor business, personal and charitable transactions and combing through 20 years of associations.
Many nominees have been forced to hire accountants and other professionals to field complex tax questions and explain other discoveries.
In the month since the discovery that former Senator Thomas A. Daschle had unpaid taxes and penalties that forced him to withdraw as nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, other appointees say investigators from the White House, the FBI and the Senate had descended on them.
A Senate investigation of former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, whose nomination to be the United States Trade Representative has been stalled since it was announced in mid-December, has discovered relatively minor tax mistakes involving basketball tickets, speech honoraria and a $1,500 television he donated to charity.
Two more of President Obama's choices have withdrawn - Susan F. Tierney, who had been the leading candidate for the Energy Department's No. 2 official, said she was no longer interested and Jane Garvey, a former Federal Aviation Administration Chief who had been rumoured to be the top choice for Deputy Transportation Secretary, also said she was no longer a candidate.
Some nominees have been allowed to work in related jobs at the Departments as they await confirmation. Others are simply told to wait at home until their nominations clear the Senate.
One nominee, who was not named as he is not supposed to talk to reporters, felt “removed from the action…I'm just very restless”.
While important posts remain unfilled, those who have already been confirmed struggle as they attempt to meet the demands of a far-reaching Presidential agenda without the staff the Agencies normally have.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Jennifer Psaki defended the investigations. "We are on target to put together a team of the best and brightest in all areas of Government, and less than six weeks into the Presidency we have not only filled hundreds of key positions, but we have done so with the highest ethical bar in Government history," she said.
10 March, 2009
UNITED KINGDOM
National broadcaster plans rejected
Plans to set up a new Government-run broadcasting network in the United Kingdom to compete with the BBC have been criticised by former BBC Chairman, Sir Christopher Bland.
Dismissing the proposal as "wishful thinking," Sir Christopher said it was by no means clear the UK could afford one properly funded public broadcaster – let alone two.
He said it would make more sense to privatise Channel 4 than, as the plan suggested, build a new public network around it.
Speaking as part of a Royal Television Society roundtable discussion on the future of public service broadcasting and digital Britain, Sir Christopher said privatisation of Channel 4 made more sense than trying to create a second-class public service broadcaster “when there isn't room for more than one."
He said the plans suffered from a surfeit of wishful thinking. The kind of high speed digital Britian they outlined “would be extremely desirable if we could find somebody else to pay for it”.
"There's no argument about the fundamental premise of can we afford to support two properly funded public service broadcasters,” he said. “No other country in the world can. Most countries in the world can't afford one.
"The idea that Channel 4 has a right to exist forever, or indeed the ability to exist for ever, just flies in the face of the way the market's changing. We cannot afford to maintain Channel 4 with its public service remit in its historic form … The moment has come for privatisation of Channel 4."
He said Channel 4 brings nothing to BBC Worldwide. “They have by virtue of their structure almost no international program rights and that's kind of baked into the way they commission programs."
"There is no model that suggests that you can earn an adequate return from even two megabit broadband as a universal proposition.
“If the Government is going to pay for it, that is fine but the Government's got to come clean and not think that somehow by wishing it, it's going to happen.
“It's not going to happen," he said.
3 March, 2009
IRELAND
Marchers protest against PS levy
About 100,000 marchers have protested in Dublin against plans to impose a pension levy on the Irish Public Service.
About 350,000 public sector workers will be affected by the levy which unions say is, in effect, a 10 per cent pay cut. Organisers of the march said workers did not cause the
economic crisis but were having to pay for it.
In a statement, the Irish Government said it recognised the measures it was taking were "difficult and in some cases painful". However, it reflected the reality that the Government was not in a position to continue to meet the Public Service pay bill in the circumstances of declining revenue.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), which organised the march, said it was
campaigning for "a fairer and better way" of dealing with the economic crisis.
ICTU Secretary General Sally-Anne Kinahan said the unions’ priority was to ensure that the interest of workers were looked after, not the interests of big business or the wealthy. However, there are claims that the pensions levy idea originated from the ICTU.
Executive member of the Civil Public and Services Union (CPSU), Terry Kelleher, claimed that when the proposed 10 per cent pay cut was put on the table, part of the ICTU delegation proposed a pensions levy as being “more sellable".
One protester said he was sick and tired of the way the Government was conducting itself.
“I've a mortgage to pay, I've children to put through school, and now I'm being told I have to take cutback, after cutback, after cutback,” the protester said.
Ireland, which was once one of Europe's fastest-growing economies, has been more badly affected by the global economic crisis than many other members of the European Union.The country officially fell into recession in September 2008, and unemployment has risen sharply in the following months.
3 March, 2009
ZIMBABWE
Secretaries in unannounced reshuffle
The President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, has reassigned the Permanent Secretary positions of all his country’s Government Departments to members of his own political party, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF).
The move was made without reference to the Prime Minister in the Government of National Unity, Morgan Tsvangirai, and threatens to undermine the coalition Government.
Mr Tsvangirai’s party, The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is now considering whether to pull out of the coalition, describing President Mugabe’s move as a serious breach.
MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said unless half the Permanent Secretaries were taken out of ZANU-PF’s hands, the MDC would walk away from the Government of National Unity.
An announcement on the State-run television network, ZTV, said Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Misheck Sibanda had reassigned some permanent secretaries and appointed new ones. As a result, all 34 Permanent Secretaries are now members of ZANU-PF.
There are 41 Cabinet Ministers, with seven vacancies outstanding.
Dr Sibanda told ZTV that appointments in the remaining Ministries and Departments in the Office of the President and Cabinet, the offices of the Vice Presidents, the Office of the Prime Minister and the offices of the Deputy Prime Ministers, will be made in due course.
He also announced that Dr Ray Ndhlukula had been re-assigned as Deputy Chief Secretary for Policy Co-ordination and Administration in the Office of the President and Cabinet, and retired Colonel Christian Katsande had been promoted to Deputy Chief Secretary in the Department of Economic Research and Policy Analysis in the Office of the President and Cabinet.
Mr Chamisa said Mr Tsvangirai was not consulted about the appointments of Permanent Secretaries. The Chairman of the South African Development Community and South African President, Kgalema Motlanthe who helped mediate the power-sharing deal between the MDC and ZANU-PF would be alerted to the developments.
“ZANU-PF is pushing its luck too far,” Mr Chamisa said. “Also they are taking the MDC for granted…It’s supposed to be an inclusive Government.”
“Ideally, the appointments of Permanent Secretaries and all senior Civil Servants should have been handled by the Prime Minister working with the President.”
The MDC, which won the Parliamentary elections and the most votes in the first presidential ballot in March last year, said the issue of Permanent Secretaries was not negotiable.
3 March, 2009
UNITED KINGDOM
Budget cuts threaten PS numbers
Savings of hundreds of millions of pounds expected to be announced in the United Kingdom Budget in six weeks has put the Executive Governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on notice to expect Public Service staff cuts.
The First Ministers of the three Governments have met with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown in an attempt to cushion the impact of the cuts on regional administrations.
Peter Robinson (Northern Ireland), Alex Salmond (Scotland) and Rhodri Morgan (Wales) made appeals to the UK Government to cushion the impact of further cuts on their administrations.
Mr Robinson admitted the sort of figures which were being talked about would mean job losses “of very significant proportions”.
A spokesman for the Northern Ireland Department of Finance and Personnel said it could not yet quantify the extent of the new efficiency savings being required but they “could be” in the region of between £140m ($A308m) and £200m ($A440m)
Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, who was also at the meeting, said he hoped Mr Brown would “keep his word”, a reference to the all-party meeting which led to the restoration of power-sharing in May, 2007 at which Mr Brown promised continuing support from Westminster.
Mr Robinson said the sort of figures that are being talked about would require Northern Ireland to make efficiencies of £200m or more.
“That means job losses of very significant proportions if it were to be applied to Northern Ireland.”
3 March, 2009
UNITED STATES
Housing help for Defence personnel
Defence personnel in the United States armed forces are to receive special compensation to counter their losses on home sales due to the global economic crisis.
Military families ordered to relocate are facing losses on the sale, low (or no) rents if they don’t sell or family separation as a last resort. In some cases mortgage foreclosure has followed the closure of military bases when no home buyers have been able to be found.
The housing crisis is hitting military families particularly hard.
Many who bought during the boom and have been forced to relocate because of fresh orders are faced with selling their homes at a big loss. There are few buyers or renters, particularly in the hardest-hit markets.
Without assistance, their options are reduced to renting at a loss, separation from loved ones or in extreme cases, foreclosure.
The US Congress has included a provision in the Economic Stimulus Package to compensate Service members who sell their home at a loss or have been foreclosed upon because they were forced to move after a base closure, reassignment or a combat wound which required them to be near a health facility.
The program also covers surviving spouses of those killed in combat.
Under the provision, the Government will cover 95 per cent of a loss if a Service member is forced to sell. The Government can also choose to acquire the title of a home by paying off the balance of a Service member's mortgage or paying the owner up to 90 per cent of the home's previous value. No dollar ceiling has been set.
The undertaking was expected to cost $555 million and expands the US Defense Department's Homeowners Assistance Program which helps military and Federal personnel whose homes have lost value because of a base closure.
However, the program does not cover all military members facing a loss because of a home sale.
In an attempt to limit the number of claims, it applies only to a Service member's primary residence, and only to homes purchased before 1 July 2006, roughly the time the market began its free-fall.
3 March, 2009
NORTHERN IRELAND
Outsourced payroll scheme fails
A privatised payroll system for the Northern Ireland Public Service has reportedly left some staff “significantly underpaid” and in need of emergency payments.
A document believed to have come from the Secretary of the Department for Regional Development (DRD), Paul Priestly, warned of declining staff confidence in the multi-million dollar HRConnect program.
The internal document was sent last month to the Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP).
HRConnect is a major plank of the DFP reform agenda for the public sector and covers a range of human resources services.
Last week, the DFP announced the cancellation of another in a string of high-profile reform initiative, the Workplace 2010 scheme for privatising office provision.
In his memo on HRConnect, Mr Priestly said there had been a “lack of progress” in resolving problems.
“For example, at the start of this month DRD was left with no option but to make emergency payments to a number of staff who had been significantly underpaid in January and who, despite making numerous contacts with HRConnect, had not received any payment.”
He also said there was an “apparent lack of customer service” from the HRConnect centre.
“In some cases individuals have been placed in actual financial difficulty through errors in their pay, yet when they try to resolve their issues they are unable to get a meaningful response from HRConnect despite repeated attempts,” the memo said.
"In summary, the continuing difficulties being experienced with payroll and customer service are leading many of my staff to question the skills and capacity of HR to deliver to an acceptable standard.”
A spokeswoman for DFP said it did not comment on internal correspondence.
The DRD said it did not comment on leaked documents.
3 March, 2009
ISLE OF MAN
Health system labelled unsustainable
The Health Minister on the Isle of Man has declared his Government’s health system “unsustainable.”
The Minister, Eddie Teare, has warned that with an ageing population the Government was 'between a rock and a hard place', and couldn’t go on the way it was.
Mr Teare made his comments as he unveiled a strategy for the future of health services in the Isle of Man. This includes trying to combat obesity and working on prevention rather than cure.
The 10-year plan for “effective health care” covers lifestyle, main causes of ill health and mortality, children's health and well-being, the health of older people, mental health, long term conditions, major causes of lost years of life and poor quality of life and the key components of strategic change.
The Minister also stressed the need to take account of technological changes, increasing demand, and the need to educate people about health risks derived from lifestyle. He announced his Department is also moving some treatment away from a hospital setting and becoming more community based.
Noting that one in three people over 65 have some form of long term illness and this age category is going to increase by 23 per cent over in the next six years, Mr Teare said there was no magic wand that would find a solution.
Director of Public Health, Dr Parameswaran Kishore said the Isle of Man would not blindly follow standards laid down by the United Kingdom but use them as guidelines and adapt them to meet local needs.
Public health consultant, Dr Paul Emerson who has been studying how to tackle obesity, particularly in children, said that current estimates suggested 60 per cent of the population will be obese by 2050. “The knock-on effects…are diabetes, heart failure, heart attacks and strokes,” he said.
3 March, 2009
ISRAEL
Complaint lodged against top official
The Israeli Civil Service Commission (CSC) has been called on to take disciplinary action against the nation’s top Defence official who has been accused of criticising the Government’s military strategy in the Gaza strip.
Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert complained to the CSC about Major General.
Amos Gilad and removed him from the negotiating team working on a cease-fire agreement with the Palestinian organisation, Hamas.
The move was in response to a newspaper article in which Major General Gilad criticised Mr Olmert’s insistence that any ceasefire agreement with Hamas would have to await the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit, seized in 2006 by Gaza militants.
Mr Olmert’s Office is seeking disciplinary action against Major General Gilad, for making public his “embarrassing and significantly harmful” criticisms of the Government strategy.
Local commentators now say there appears to be disagreement between the Defence Ministry and Mr Olmert over the urgency of a long-term ceasefire in Gaza – which is the wish of Defence Minister Ehud Barak – as well as on whether it would help create the climate for Corporal Shalit’s release.
Israeli media reported that Major General Gilad would be replaced in the ceasefire talks by Yuval Diskin, the head of the Shin Bet Intelligence Agency, Yuval Diskin, and a senior aide to Mr Olmert, Shalom Turgeman. Mr Olmert’s office said negotiations on Corporal Shalit’s release would be unaffected.
Officials close to Mr Olmert have been reported as saying that the last six-month ceasefire with Hamas, which was brokered by Egypt, failed to produce any progress towards freeing Corporal Shalit.
Meanwhile Major General Gilad has hit out at anonymous criticisms made of him by Government officials by insisting he continually informed Mr Olmert’s Office of progress in the talks, and that the Government had “insulted” the Egyptians – “almost our last ally here” – and jeopardised national security by its change of stance.
3 March, 2009
INDIA
Disabled worker wins PS job
An Indian Government Department has been fined Rs.25,000 ($A750,000) and ordered to employ a visually impaired worker after the man took the Department and the Union Public Service Commission (USPC) to the High Court.
The Delhi High Court ordered the UPSC to appoint the man, Ravi Prakash, within six weeks on the basis of the Public Service examination he passed in 2006.
A Division Bench comprising Justices A.K. Sikri and Suresh Kait imposed the fine on the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) for the delay in Mr Prakash’s appointment, forcing him to file launch a Court a case over the issue.
The Court also directed the Government to fill seven other posts lying vacant since 1996 under the quota for disabled persons.
Counsel for Mr Prakash argued that the Disabilities Act required the Government to set aside one per cent of the quota to the visually challenged out of the three per cent that is reserved for handicapped persons generally when appointments are made to Government jobs.
Mr Prakash passed examinations for the Public Service three years ago but was then denied appointment by the DOPT which said that it had only one post available for people with disabilities.
He decided to take the matter further and took the next step which was an appeal to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which dismissed his plea.
His final and ultimately successful appeal was to the High Court which upheld his challenge to the CAT order.
3 March, 2009
GHANA
PS seeks retirement grants
Public Servants in Ghana have urged the Government to adopt a policy of paying End-of-Service Benefits (ESBs) to employees who have retired.
The Civil Servants Association (CSA) has argued that the ESBs should be extended to Public Servants since it already applied to Members of Parliament and senior contract employees.
In the absence of an ESB, or an ex-gratia payment, the CSA said the Public Servants were forced to exist on the pension.
Acting Executive Secretary of the CSA, James Ekow Amissah, said it was wrong for Public Servants who were the “machinery of Government”, to go home with only their social security pension, whereas MPs and managing directors who served for short periods took home “huge” ESBs.
He said the standard pension is so meagre that it cannot cater for workers when they retire.
Mr Amissah called for equity in the salaries of Public Servants, including MPs and Ministers of State, noting that the salaries of Public Servants were so low that “average Civil Servants cannot own houses or vehicles, while they are also not able to access loans from banks because of their small salaries".
The issue of ex-gratia payments has generated controversy since the recommendations for such payments for the former President, former Vice-President, MPs and other public officials was revealed recently.
Many Ghanaians, including the Committee for Joint Action (CJA) pressure group feel these payments are too extravagant.
As a result, President John Evans Atta Mills has announced his intention to constitute a committee to review the payments.
3 March, 2009
UNITED STATES
Plan to cap car emissions
A plan to set national rules to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars has been
floated by the new Presidential Administration in the United States.
The proposed national rules have been the subject of a series of meetings with car companies as well as green groups and Congressional Representatives from California, which is awaiting word on whether it will receive a Federal waiver to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles
Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate, Carol M. Browner said she and others backed the idea of a single standard for cars and trucks.
"The hope across the Administration is that we can have a unified national policy when it comes to cleaner vehicles," Ms Browner told the Western Governors' Association meeting in Washington.
A White House official, who asked not to be identified because the policy has yet to be finalised, said Ms Browner's comments did not mean the Administration of President Barack Obama was seeking to usurp Congress's role in regulating carbon dioxide and other emissions linked to global warming.
The official said the Administration is engaged with Congress to pass cap-and-trade legislation, which President Obama believes is far superior to a regulatory approach using the existing Clean Air Act.
Several car industry officials said they backed the idea of a universal fuel-efficiency standard aimed at curbing greenhouse gases, even if it is stricter than the country's current goal of achieving an average of 35 miles per gallon (roughly 12.5 kilometres per litre) by 2020. California's proposed rule would produce a standard of roughly 15 kilometres per litre.
Spokesman for General Motors Washington, Greg Martin said car makers and consumers are seeking "certainty and consistency" when it comes to fuel efficiency.
"We've been supportive of a strong national standard, rather than having to comply with the burden of a patchwork of standards State by State," Mr Martin said.
Spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Gloria Bergquist said her group was encouraged by the Administration's recent moves.
"We were hoping the Obama Administration could come in and hit the refresh button on this debate," she said.