Pain and anger as Brexit looms

While the United Kingdom’s forthcoming exit from the European Union is no doubt being celebrated long and hard in the pubs and clubs of Brexit-loving areas of England, I have been receiving gloomy messages from the many contacts who over the past three-and-a half years have kept faith with the Remain cause.

“My last Christmas as part of the European family of nations,” one simply said.  Another darkly predicted “lots of pain and heartache along the way as the false Brixeteer slogans are blown to smithereens”.

The regret is just as heartfelt among many Europeans, with the Executive Vice President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans writing: “Since I went to a British school you have always been part of me. Now you are leaving and it breaks my heart.”

There is also anger, with Sweden’s Foreign Minister, Margot Wallström saying she cannot forgive the UK’s political leaders for causing Brexit.

“It is an historic mistake and a big problem for all of us,” Wallström said.

With the year about to turn and the final month of the UK’s membership looming, a Polish Member of the European Parliament sees Brexit as ultimately a good thing for the EU.

Radoslaw Sikorski says the UK’s long and anguished exit has so shocked other members of the bloc that any thoughts of following Britain out of the door have vanished.

“English Europhobes wrongly assumed that the UK’s departure would trigger a domino effect and cause the EU to collapse,” Sikorski said.

“Actually, the opposite has happened. The EU has never been as popular and has never commanded this widespread loyalty as a result of Brexit.

“People have seen the mess the UK has got itself in and don’t see that as an example to follow.”

Sikorski also made a good point when he said that in supporting Brexit in the recent General Election, British voters had also rejected the perception of Marxism and anti-Semitism that dogged the Opposition Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn.

Corbyn was never going to win the election and put up such a poor showing in opposition to Brexit that he split and disheartened the Remain vote.

It is now up to a new Labour leader to chart a course for the party. There will certainly be elements that point to the losses in traditional Labour areas as reason to accept a post-Brexit Britain.

However, opposition to the now arch-Brexiteer Conservatives and Prime Minister Boris Johnson can only result from a critical stance of his policies, most of which are going to stem from Brexit.

There will also be the issues of Scotland and Northern Ireland on which Labour must make a stand.

As Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon has rightly pointed out. The General Election may have given Johnson a mandate to take England out of EU, but that did not extend to Scotland where the pro-independence (and pro-EU) Nationalists virtually swept the board.

The Johnson deal that will treat Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the UK has left Unionists with a sense of betrayal and galvanised Nationalists to call for a new referendum on union with the south.

Having been virtually ejected from Scotland, where it was once the dominant party, it is likely the new Labour leadership will move towards supporting a new independence vote, especially as Johnson has already said he would not allow one.

It may also consider that the gradual realignment of politics in Northern Ireland makes a future referendum on union with the south inevitable.

As has often been said the past, the price of winning Brexit could be the loss of the United Kingdom.

Apostrophe loses a champion

A sad piece of news that might have been missed over the festive season — after nearly two decades of fighting the misplaced apostrophe, John Richards has decided to admit defeat.

The former UK copy editor founded the Apostrophe Protection Society in 2001 outraged by the increasing use of slogans such as ‘Diamond’s are forever’ or ‘Best price for fresh vegetable’s’.

Back then he received support from all over the world, but in more recent times has faced growing indifference with some of the communications taking on an aggressive and negative tone.

Comments like “get a life” and “as long as it gets the message across what does it matter?” have become all too frequent. He even featured on a calendar listing ‘the most boring people in Britain’.

He did have some wins, including persuading a local council to reverse a decision to ban the apostrophe from its street signs after it claimed Global Positioning Devices could not cope with the punctuation.

It had no evidence to back its bizarre claim, which Richards described as “appalling”. 

However, for the most part he has been ignored by officialdom which often claimed it had more pressing matters to attend to than a misplaced or missing apostrophe here and there in its official correspondence or signage.

Some so-called experts in the language have even claimed that apostrophes could be dispensed with altogether without causing any confusion. Richards disagrees.

“The apostrophe is a vital piece of punctuation and grammar. To do without it would be confusing as well as inelegant,” he says.

At 96, with no-one interested in continuing the battle, he admits that “the ignorance and laziness present in modern times have won”.

He plans to keep the society’s website up as a now mute reproof of an age where correct grammar and punctuation — and indeed literacy itself — is increasingly sidelined and even sneered at.

International Public Sector News

Special Adviser’s special salary

LONDON (December 22): A report from the United Kingdom Cabinet Office has revealed that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Chief Special Adviser, Dominic Cummings is paid three times the average UK salary.

Mr Cummings, who was brought into Number 10 when Mr Johnson became Prime Minister in July, is paid up to £99,999 ($A188,500). The average UK salary is £29,500 ($A55,600).

Special advisers, known in Westminster as Spads, offer senior Ministers political advice away from the impartiality of the Public Service.

As of November 5, there were 108 full-time equivalent Spads working across Government, costing the taxpayer £9.6 million ($A18 million) once pension and national insurance contributions were factored in.

*********

Protester suspensions defended

HONG KONG (20 December): Hong Kong’s Secretary for Civil Service, Joshua Law has defended the practice of suspending Public Servants suspected of committing offences during months of protests.

Hong Kong Police have been accused of arresting people indiscriminately during the protests, which began in June.

It was revealed that “a small number” of Government employees had been arrested over the course of the city’s pro-democracy movement.

Mr Law said the officers had been suspended because Public Servants must be “law-abiding, dedicated, impartial and politically neutral”.

*********

Firefighters win pensions fight

LONDON (December 22): United Kingdom firefighters have won an employment tribunal case that returns them to their pre-2015 pension schemes.

This comes after a ruling, confirmed by the Supreme Court, that a Government decision to transfer younger firefighters into a financially inferior scheme while older members remained on more favourable schemes, had been unlawful on age, sex and race discrimination grounds.

General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, Matt Wrack said it would now pursue compensation for injury to feelings and financial losses for members who lost money because of the 2015 changes.

The decision will also apply to members of other public sector pension schemes.

*********

Retirees targeted in austerity drive

BUENOS AIRES (December 23): Argentina’s new Government is targeting newly retired senior Public Servants in a series of belt-tightening "public spending adjustments".

The move comes amid a debate about the retirement packages of some senior Public Servants, including judges and diplomats, which are significantly higher than those of other public workers.

President Alberto Fernandez has said he will seek to repeal these pensions in an extraordinary session of Congress next month.

"The two Departments with the highest pension packages are the Foreign Office and the judiciary. We want that discussed. Within this law, we will set up a commission to deal with this issue," Mr Fernandez said.

*********

Mall-style PS cuts waiting times

JAKARTA (December 21): Indonesia’s ‘Mall for Public Services’, introduced in the capital, Jakarta, in 2017, is slowly gaining popularity as citizens discover that by visiting it they no longer have to take a whole day off work to attend to bureaucratic requirements.

Initially set up by the Jakarta City Administration to service businesses’ permit needs, other services for ordinary citizens have been added over time.

Dita Guritno, a mother of two, said she once dreaded the long line and the prospect of being rejected and told to come back with more documents.

“To my surprise my name was called on schedule. The officers were helpful and gentle to my son and didn’t mind taking pictures again and again for my son’s passport,” Ms Guritno said.

*********

Call for more flexible work

ST HELIER (December 20): Group director of External Relations for the Government of Jersey, Kate Nutt has called for Public Service jobs to offer flexible working whenever possible as a way of improving both diversity and quality among recruits.

Ms Nutt also announced the launch of a pilot program, I WILL, which aims to get more women into senior leadership roles in the public sector.

There is currently just one female Director General, while 13 of the Government’s 33 directors, including Ms Nutt, are women.

The Government’s gender pay gap report shows that the difference in the average pay between all men and women in the workforce is 18.3 per cent. It also revealed that of the 10 employees earning above £170,000 ($A320,500) a year, just one is female.

*********

Racial abuser loses appeal

BOSTON (December 23): A United States firefighter who was sacked after allegedly using the ‘n-word’ against a black colleague has lost his appeal for reinstatement.

Former Navy veteran Gregory LaVallee, who had served in the Boston Fire Department for 14 years, lost his job in March after the December 2018 incident in which it is alleged he entered his fire station drunk and off-duty and swore at an on-duty black firefighter using the racial epithet.

The Civil Service Commission voted to uphold Mr LaVallee’s termination, with Chair, Christopher Bowman calling the word choice “repugnant” and the circumstances of the case “particularly ugly”.

Mr Bowman said it was right and proper for him to deny the appeal, although he was “not unsympathetic” to Mr LaVallee’s “challenges with alcoholism”.

*********

Lump-sum pay-out for PS

NASSAU (December 23): After months of negotiations the Bahamas Public Service Union (BPSU) has signed an agreement with the Government that will see its members receive a $B1,400 ($A2,043) lump sum payment.

Minister of National Insurance and Public Service, Brensil Rolle estimated the total cost to be about approximately $B30 million ($A43.8 million).

In an attempt to clear up confusion over who will get the pay-out, Mr Rolle said it would go to teachers, permanent weekly paid employees, uniformed branches and Public Hospitals Authority staff.

Those not receiving the payment included staff at other Government authorities and corporations, members of the judicial branch, contract and temporary workers, air traffic controllers, Ministers and Members of Parliament.

*********

Extra payment for life changes

PHNOM PENH (December 25): Cambodia’s Ministry of the Environment has announced that members of its staff who get married, give birth, or die will receive a one-off payment of five million riel ($A1,250).

In a statement, the Ministry said the money would be paid out of its Environment and Social Fund and be managed by the Cambodian Women’s Association for Peace and Development.

“The policy was made to contribute to improving the living conditions of the Civil Servants working for the Ministry of Environment,” the statement said.

“The Ministry has paid a lot of attention to providing funding for the wellbeing of Civil Servants as well as to encourage and support them as gratitude for their sacrifices towards the national wellbeing of the Kingdom and its people.”

*********

 ‘Stern action’ in transport blitz

JOHOR BARU (December 24): The Road Transport Department (JPJ) of Johor has completed a blitz on public service vehicles operating in the Malaysian State, taking “stern action” against 96 of the 630 inspected.

Director at the JPJ, Razali Wagiman said 120 officers were involved, some going undercover as passengers on express buses, intercity buses and factory buses to ensure the safety of the public.

“A total of 137 offences were committed by the 96 vehicles and their drivers including driving without a valid licence, not having a Public Service Vehicle licence, using expired driving licences, and one for breaking traffic light regulations,” Mr Razali said.

“Special operations on public service vehicles will be held from time to time to raise road safety awareness.”

*********

Cypriot PS numbers rise

NICOSIA (December 20): There was a slight increase in the Cypriot Public Service in the third quarter of the year, bringing the total to 66,846 people, the Statistical Service has announced.

According to the Service, the number of workers in the general Government sector was 61,476 while 5,370 people were employed in State-controlled entities.

The Central Government saw an increase of 297 people, or 0.52 per cent, while State-owned entities staff rose by 40, or 0.76 per cent.

Local Authorities saw a 1.27 per cent drop in staff numbers, representing 54 people.

*********

Malawi boosts travel allowance

LILONGWE (December 25): Malawi’s 180,000 Public servants have been given an end-of-year boost to their pay, with the Government raising subsistence allowances for all grades.

The increase in allowances takes effect from January 1 2020 with a further raise — this time in holiday pay — from July 1.

Subsistence allowances mainly apply to officers travelling on duty within Malawi to cater for, among others, accommodation and incidentals.

The full Public Service News service will resume in the New Year

International Public Sector News

Public sector strikes continue

PARIS (December 18): French public sector industrial action continues, with police firing teargas at protesters as thousands of people took to the streets of Paris in a pension reform stand-off that has sparked more than two weeks of crippling transport strikes.

French President, Emmanuel Macron has vowed not to give into union demands to drop the overhaul, which includes raising the age of retirement with full pension from 62 to 64 and ending special privileges for some workers.

Teachers, hospital workers and other public employees joined transport workers for the third day of marches since the dispute began on December 5.

The Ministry of the Interior said about 615,000 people have taken part in more than 100 rallies countrywide, including 76,000 demonstrators in Paris.

*******************

Departments to go in UK shake-up

LONDON (December 11): The victorious Conservative Government in the United Kingdom General Election is expected to announce plans to abolish the Department for International Development and the Department for Exiting the European Union (Brexit).

International Development will reportedly be merged with the Foreign Office, while the Brexit Department is likely to be absorbed into the Department for International Trade.

Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has on several occasions said he wants the International Development Budge to be better spent.

Mr Johnson is reported as saying that the UK “can’t keep spending huge sums of British taxpayers’ money as though we were some independent Scandinavian NGO”.

******************

PS ‘not ready’ for EU trade talks

LONDON (December 19): A former United Kingdom Ministerial Adviser on Europe says the Public Service is not set up to run complex trade negotiations with the European Union.

Raoul Raparel said the Government and the Public Service had a lot of work to do if they were to prepare to leave with a deal – especially given Prime Minister, Boris Johnson’s deadline of the end of 2020.

"As it stands, the UK does not yet appear ‘match-fit’ for the next phase of negotiations. There is a huge amount of work to be done to flesh out the detail of what the UK wants from its future relationship with the EU,” Mr Raparel said.

“Whitehall is not yet ready to negotiate such a complex and wide-ranging agreement, nor to implement it — but contrary to what many say, it is possible to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement with the EU by the end of next year."

****************

Broadcaster’s future under study

DUBLIN (December 11): The Irish Government is to set up a Commission on the Future of Irish Public Service Broadcasting as a direct response to a revised strategy by the State broadcaster, RTÉ.

It is to review the current approach and make recommendations on setting a new strategic direction for public service broadcasting at national, regional and local level.

It will bring forward proposals by September 2020.

RTÉ submitted a revised strategy which has now been considered by Government, in light of its financial difficulties.

************

PS recruitment to widen

TALLINN (December 12): The Estonian Government wants to increase the proportion of other nationalities working in the public sector in order to fill yawning vacancy gaps.

A new analysis has found that a quarter of vacancies in the public sector remain unfilled. There were no shortage of applicants, but many did not have the skills required.

Minister of Public Administration, Jaak Aab said the State should now look at non-native Estonian speakers to fill the gaps.

“Vacancies should be filled with more members of the non-Estonian speaking population, such as Russian-speakers, Finns and Ukrainians, with special language courses to help these people,” Mr Aab said.

************

New plan to promote Irish in PS

DUBLIN (December 12): The Irish Cabinet has signed off on a plan requiring one fifth of all new recruits to the Public Service to be competent in Irish.

The Government will introduce promotional measures in schools and colleges in a bid to attract Irish speakers to apply for Public Service jobs.

Under the Irish Languages Amendment Bill, public bodies such as the An Garda Síochána (police) and the Health Service Executive will also have to introduce measures to accommodate the Irish version of a person’s name on their computer systems.

All new public bodies will have to bear Irish language or bilingual names and logos.

**************

Parental leave in Defence Bill

WASHINGTON (December 13): A piece of legislation attached to the United States Defence Budget Authorisation Bill allows for a new paid parental leave program for civilian Federal employees.

Lawmakers, employee unions and other organisations have hailed the 12 weeks of paid parental leave with one of its sponsors, Democrat Don Beyer, calling it “one of the biggest victories for the Federal workforce in my lifetime”.

The Bill includes two new safeguards designed to protect Federal employees and their health, dental, vision and life insurance benefits during the any Government shutdown.

Attaching apparently unrelated provisions to a key must-pass Bill such as authorisations for Defence spending is a regular device used by lawmakers to ensure measures get into law which might otherwise be resisted on their own.

***********

Months of turmoil affects morale

WASHINGTON (December 18): The turmoil of reorganisations, relocations and mergers has had a noticeable impact on employee engagement and morale in parts of the United States Public Service during 2019.

Analysis by the Partnership for Public Service (PPS) and Boston Consulting Group shows that overall, employee engagement across Government sat at 61.7 points out of 100, dipping just slightly by 0.5 points in 2019.

The PPS said the latest results were a surprising show of resiliency among Agencies during a tumultuous year.

“However, in many instances where there has been significant reform or change there have been significant drops,” the PPS said,  citing the Corporation for National and Community Service,  which took a 27-point nosedive for a score of 39.3.

***************

Cayman measures to combat fraud

GEORGE TOWN (December 13): Two Cayman Islands Ministries have worked together to organise fraud prevention and detection training sessions for more than 100 Public Servants.

The training sessions are designed to increase the capabilities within the Ministry of Employment and Border Control and The Ministry of Commerce, Planning and Infrastructure to detect, prevent and manage potential situations of fraud and corruption.

Participants at the sessions included managers, heads of Departments and staff involved in the areas of accounting, procurement and asset management.

The course is offered to Public Servants every five years.

*************

Saudi data revolution spreads

RIYADH (December 14): The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Civil Service has linked with the central databases of 90 Government Agencies representing more than 86 per cent of public sector employees.

The database connection was secured after the Agencies completed the requirements for sending human resources data through the Government integration channel according to the classification of groups specified by the Ministry.

The Ministry, represented by its Digital Transformation Agency, provides more than 27 electronic services on its website, serving Government Agencies and public sector employees.

The move follows an order from King Salman for Agencies to complete electronic connectivity with the Ministry of Civil Service within 120 days.

**************

Minister promises ‘painless’ downsize

KUALA LUMPUR (December 14): The Deputy Minister in the Malaysian Prime Minister's Department has announced plans to gradually downsize the Public Service by five per cent by 2021.

In reply to a question in Parliament, Mohamed Hanipa Maidin said the reduction could be achieved by natural attrition “without affecting service delivery and source of income of the relevant offices".

Malaysia has one of the largest Public Services in the world in relation to its population with one Public Servant for every 19.37 people.

******************

Police benefit from protests

HONG KONG (December 14): Police officers in Hong Kong have received a total of around HK$950 million ($A177 million) in overtime pay from June to November — the time when the Special Administrative Region was rocked by waves of protests.

Figures released by the Legislative Council show that on average each officer has been paid HK$86,363 extra ($A16,105) since the start of mass protests.

The disclosure came as pro-democracy lawmakers attempted to block a Government-proposed pay rise for law enforcement.

Earlier this year Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced pay rises of 4.75 per cent for senior Public Servants and 5.26 per cent to those in lower and middle salary bands.

****************

Row over lawman’s appointment

JERUSALEM (December 17): Israel’s Minister for Justice and the Country’s Civil Service Commissioner have clashed over the appointment of an acting State Attorney.

The Minister, Amir Ohana rejected a demand from Commissioner, Daniel Hershkowitz that he be consulted over the appointment. Mr Ohana said he would press on with the posting regardless.

He said the matter had already been discussed with Mr Hershkowitz several times.

“The obligation under law to consult with the commissioner was fulfilled, and when deciding from among the candidates, none of them will be a stranger to him,” Mr Ohana said.

****************

Protestants wanted in PS

BELFAST (December 11): The Northern Ireland Public Service is encouraging Protestants and men to apply for 300 vacancies.

These groups are currently under-represented in the Public Service as are young people under the age of 35, people with a disability and people from minority ethnic communities.

While the Public Service said applications from these groups would be particularly welcome, it stressed that all applications would be considered strictly on merit.

The full Public Service News service will resume in the New Year