Work can begin on commute
BERN (December 31): Swiss
Public Servants who work while commuting to and from the office will now be
able to count this as part of their office hours.
An amendment to the directive covering mobile forms
of work for the Federal Government stipulates that workers will simply need
approval from their direct superior in order to be credited for working on the
train.
Previously such work, which could include sending
emails, making phone calls or reading reports, was billed in exceptional cases
only.
A spokesperson for the Federal Personnel Office
could not say what proportion of the 38,000-strong Public Service were currently
allowed to work during their commute or how many were expected to take
advantage of the new rule.
*********
PM
backtracks on allowance cut
KUALA LUMPUR (December 28): Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad is
having second thoughts on a plan to cut a signing-on allowances for new recruits
to some parts of the Public Service, just two days after it was announced.
Tens of thousands of people signed an online
petition urging the decision to be reversed.
The Public Service Department said the new policy followed
a review that found the 33 affected professions — including nurses, architects
and legal officers — “no longer fulfil the criteria for the incentives”.
However, a Government spokesman said a circular
outlining the cuts would now be delayed until Cabinet had more chance for
discussions in January.
*********
Unwelcome
preview of Honours List
LONDON (December 30): There are calls for an inquiry into how more than
1,000 prominent United Kingdom figures who received New Year’s honours had
their home and work addresses posted on a Government website.
The list included more than a dozen employees of the Ministry of Defence
and senior counter-terrorism officers. The document was visible on the Cabinet
Office website for around an hour before it was taken down.
Former head of the Public Service, Baron Kerslake said the breach was
“extraordinary because this is a well-established process that has gone on in
pretty much the same way for years”.
“Of course, it’s likely to be human error, as has been suggested, but we
need to know how well staff are trained about the importance of maintaining
security. Were they briefed on the potential consequences if this information
was released?” Baron Kerslake asked.
*********
Pressure
grows for paternity leave
TOKYO (December 28): The Japanese Government has ratified a plan that
encourages male Public Servants to take paternity leave for a minimum of one
month.
Under the policy, which comes into force in April, the performance of
managers will be evaluated partly on how easy they make it for subordinates to
take paternity leave.
Other measures will be introduced to make it easier for new fathers to
make arrangements for their work to be done in their absence.
By urging Public Servants to take long child care leave, the Government
hopes to promote a culture of acceptance of paternity leave in both the public
and private sectors.
*********
Data haul ‘for public good’
MADRID (December 31): The Spanish Institute of
Statistics (INE) has admitted to tapping into the location data of millions of
mobile phones which it says will enable the Government to better manage public
services such as transportation and healthcare, and to improve infrastructure.
Following an agreement with phone operators
Movistar, Vodafone and Orange, INE has received data from more than 40 million mobile
devices on eight pre-agreed days.
The move has led some experts to voice doubts about
whether the study complies with current privacy legislation, particularly
because mobile phone users have not given consent for their data to be used.
In a statement, the INE said that under no circumstances
would operators “provide individual data on telephone numbers, nor on the
owners of the lines”.
*********
Korea
warns PS internet stars
SEOUL (January 1): South Korean Public Servants who
post personal videos to YouTube and other websites must now apply for a permit
from their Agency.
The Ministry of Personnel Management has prepared
standard guidelines which it says are designed to address “inappropriate action
on the part of Government employees”.
“As Civil Servants, Government employees should
abide by obligations such as maintaining dignity, not disclosing confidential
information from his or her duties and a ban on political statements,” the
Ministry said.
According to a recent survey by the Government, 63 Public
Servants, 75 Local Authority employees, and 1,248 teachers are currently
operating internet broadcasting channels.
*********
Canada
tightens privacy rules
OTTAWA (December 26): Canada’s Privacy
Commissioner, Daniel Therrien has been authorised to establish a new set of
online regulations, protecting citizens’ privacy and their rights over the data
collected on them.
Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau has set out 25
priorities covering issues such as data privacy, the use of data tools and the
management of Statistics Canada.
The move follows the publication of an official
report which called for an overhaul of the country’s privacy laws in light of a
number of data privacy investigations and concerns about Statistics Canada’s
use of data.
In his annual report, Mr Therrien urged Parliamentarians
to adopt rights-based privacy laws to better protect Canadians in the face of data-driven
technologies and the risks they pose to privacy.
*********
Johnson
plans PS relocations
LONDON (December 28): United Kingdom Prime Minister, Boris Johnson is
studying plans for a significant shift of Government Departments out of London
in 2020 — including a new Advanced Science Agency.
Sources said the priority would be to locate Government bodies in other
parts of the United Kingdom, including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, in
order to damp down secessionist sentiments.
The new science body is said to have been inspired by the United States Defence
Advanced Research Projects Agency and would develop “high-risk, high-reward”
projects, the sources said.
The new institution would sit outside UK Research and Innovation, the
primary Government funding Agency for research, and would receive £800 million ($A1.5
billion) over the next five years.
*********
PS blamed for public
hatred
COLOMBO
(January 1): Sri Lankan President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said inefficiencies in
the Public Service had caused people to hate successive Governments and this
must stop.
He
stressed the need for an efficient, simpler and corruption-free service to the
public.
“Unnecessary
laws and regulations need to be amended quickly and all public services should
be implemented in a simple manner convenient to the people,” Mr Rajapaksa said.
“Reaffirming
the public's confidence in the State service is one of the major responsibilities
of all of the 1.5 million Public Servants and it is important to have open conversations,
discussions and open-presentation of problems.”
*********
Pay
rises linked to PS reform
DUBLIN (December 30): Ireland’s Taoiseach (Prime
Minister) says he expects above-inflation pay rises in the Public Service
during 2020 — but the increases must be linked to reform.
Leo Varadkar said that he was glad that pay cuts
imposed a decade ago in the name of austerity had almost all been restored.
“It is inevitably going to be the case that during
the course of 2020 we will negotiate a new pay deal with Public Servants. We
anticipate that would allow public sector pay to continue to rise,” Mr Varadkar
said.
“We also need to make sure it’s affordable for the
taxpayer. We don’t want to go back to the past where we had massive pay
increases one year and pay cuts a year later.”
*********
Salaries
doubled as inflation bites
KHARTOUM (December 29): Sudanese Public Servants are to have their
salaries doubled in 2020 as part of a raft of measures aimed to ease the burden
of inflation, now standing at 58 per cent annually.
The new civilian Government is trying, with the help of donors, to
launch a series of economic and political reforms after veteran ruler, Omar
al-Bashir was deposed in April.
Minister for Finance, Ibrahim Elbadawi did not say how the 2020 Budget
would be funded or what the Government was forecasting for revenue and
expenditure.
“To alleviate the impact of inflation and poverty, we will double Civil
Service pay and raise the minimum wage to 1,000 Sudanese pounds ($A22), up from
425 pounds ($A9.40),” he said.
*********
Bureaucrats
baulk at railway merger
NEW DELHI (December 27): A decision by the Indian Government to merge eight
existing rail services into a single Indian Railways Management Service has
been described as “arbitrary, unfair and demotivating”.
Offices from three of the services, the Indian Railway Traffic Service, Indian
Railway Accounts Service and Indian Railway Personnel Service, say they are
professional administrators and should be separate from the other five which constitute
the technical or engineering services.
Minister for Railways, Piyush Goyal told reporters that the reform would
end departmentalism in the railway sector, encourage comprehensive and smooth
working and expedite decision-making.
The unification has instead led to an aggressive social media campaign
by officers from the three services, who believe their “Civil Service dream” has
been shattered by the Government.
*********
Cyber
security chief to quit
LONDON (December 29): The Chief Executive of the United Kingdom’s National
Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is to step down in 2020 after more than six years
in charge of the nation’s online defences.
Ciaran Martin said he would be leaving the NCSC in the northern summer
and would take up a role in the private sector, although no more details were
given.
His departure comes at a crucial time with the Government planning a strategic
review of British defence and security, with cyber capabilities at the
forefront.
Head of the Security Service MI5, Andrew Parker is also due to step down
in 2020 while head of the Secret Intelligence Service MI6, Alex Younger was due
to leave his post this year but was been granted an extension to help ease the
post-Brexit transition.
*********
Touch up for
visitor service
ROAD TOWN (December 27): New touch terminals placed at the Waterfront
Jetty and the international airport of the British Virgin Islands will allow
visitors to provide feedback about their immigration experience in real-time.
Deputy Governor, David D. Archer said that the move “reinforces the
Government’s commitment to improving the standard of customer service that is
offered in the Territory by public officers”.
The feedback provided by the terminals is uploaded to a central online
dashboard for analysis, which allows Government Agencies to understand how
various factors affect their service levels.
The information is accessible by all Government Departments and allows
them to generate reports and find ways to improve customer service.
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