WELLINGTON (April 12): The New Zealand Public Service Commission has been asked for details of how many people are employed in senior management positions as Finance Minister, Nicola Willis steps up the Government’s cost-cutting exercise.
Ms Willis (pictured) said her focus was on Tier Two and Three management roles. Heads of Department are in Tier One.
“What I have said to the Public Service Commission is, give me some advice on how many Tier Two and Three managers we have, so I can see whether it looks like there are any issues in terms of making sure the Public Service is the right size,” Ms Willis said.
“If I just focus on head count, what I worry about is that Agencies would just cull a lot of lowly-paid staff. It’s not just about head count, it’s about cost.”
While she has committed to not cutting front-line staff as part of the Government’s drive to find savings of at least 6.5 per cent within Ministries, there has been criticism that key jobs are on the line.
Ministries have so far between them announced that more than 1,000 jobs are up for consultation.
The Māori arm of the Public Service Association says a prediction that as many as 7,500 jobs could eventually go in the cull would mean irreplaceable skills and cultural expertise would be lost to Australia.
Kaihautu (leader) of the Māori arm, Janice Panoho says the Coalition Government is acting like a jobs wrecking ball.
She said many Māori and Pasifika Public Servants will flee to Australia — “where they will be welcomed with open arms”.
“It’s really those back-office staff they are talking about. These are communications people, advisors, analysts, IT people. You lose that level of expertise, it’s very hard to get back” Ms Panoho said.
She said the current influx of immigrants don’t have the expertise to work with, or to understand, indigenous communities.
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Ministry cuts teacher jobs as students decline
SEOUL (April 13): The South Korean Ministry of Education says it will cut the enrolment quota for teachers’ colleges by 12 per cent, citing a decline in student numbers.
The reduction plan comes amid rising concerns over the employment of teachers, as the number of graduates from teaching colleges exceeds the number of teaching places available at elementary schools.
The number of newly-hired teachers this year declined by more than 50 per cent compared to 2014, but the enrolment quota for related universities has remained stable over the same period.
This ‘appointment crisis’ comes as more than 150 elementary schools across the nation had no new first graders enrolling this year. In total, some 369,000 children have enrolled at elementary school, the lowest number of new first graders since the Ministry began recording such statistics in 1970.
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Belgium says EU elections under threat
BRUSSELS (April 13): Belgian Security Agencies are investigating reports that pro-Russian hackers are trying to influence elections to the European Parliament, due in June.
Prime Minister, Alexander de Croo said Moscow’s aim was to get more pro-Russian candidates elected, leading to weakened support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.
This follows a statement from the Czech Government that it had broken up a pro-Kremlin network, alleging the Voice of Europe news website had been funded by Moscow to spread propaganda and funnel cash to sympathetic European politicians.
“Belgian intelligence had confirmed that spy networks are operating in Belgium and several other European countries,” Mr de Croo said.
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Union mobilises support for remote working
LONDON (April 13): The United Kingdom Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union is urging Civil Servants to step up their opposition to the Government’s back-to-the-office drive, and possibly follow officials at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) , who have voted to strike over the issue.
The ONS dispute is over the handling of a requirement for full-time staff to spend the equivalent of two days a week in the office.
"In a survey we carried out late last year, 83 per cent of members said they believed that hybrid working made them more productive and 100 per cent said they would lose valuable time with the extra commuting, as well as facing increased travel costs," the union said in a statement.
However, the action is unlikely to get support from the Opposition Labour Party after Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves said that while office-working decisions should be made by individual managers, “spending more time in the office is good for productivity and morale”.
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Government scales back research on junta crimes
BUENOS AIRES (April 11): Argentina’s right-wing Government has been criticised for sacking 10 of 13 researchers who have been investigating armed forces archives for crimes against humanity, most of which date back to the 1976-83 military dictatorship.
After Human Rights Director at the Defence Ministry, Lucas Miles Erbes confirmed the sackings, the Government insisted the program was continuing.
The research unit, made up of experts from different disciplines, has produced more than 170 detailed reports on crimes against humanity since it was formed in 2010.
However, the Government of President Javier Milei has sparked controversy by claiming that an estimate of 30,000 people who disappeared under the junta was manufactured by human rights groups.
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Danes lead fight against underwater sabotage
COPENHAGEN (April 10): The Danish Ministry for Climate, Energy and Utilities has hosted a meeting of six countries bordering the North Sea that agreed to work together to protect underwater infrastructure from sabotage.
The agreement, involving Denmark, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands, comes after the as yet unsolved 2022 explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, Lars Aagaard said the North Sea had the potential to become the cradle of a renewable and secure energy supply in Europe, while supporting the road to a fossil-free future.
“Our nations must stand united and coordinated in our efforts to protect critical infrastructure across borders. This understanding is an important step in that direction,” Mr Aagaard said.
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Ukraine cracks down on draft evaders
KYIV (April 11): Ukraine’s Parliament has passed a controversial law devised by the Ministry of Defence that will make it easier to identify every draft-eligible man in the country. Previously many have dodged conscription by avoiding contact with authorities.
Under the law, men aged 18 to 60 will be required to carry documents showing they have registered with the military and present them when asked. Also, any man who applies for a Government service at a Consulate abroad will be registered for military service.
Oksana Zabolotna, an analyst for the watchdog group, Centre for United Actions, said it remained unclear how the measure would ensure all draft-eligible men were registered. “In that way, it does not fulfil the main declared goal,” Ms Zabolotna said.
She said it was also unclear whether Ukraine, with its continuing ammunition shortages, would be able to arm large numbers of new soldiers without a fresh injection of Western aid.
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No pay rise — officers urged to be patient
NAIROBI (April 16): There will be no pay increase for Kenyan Public Servants this year, Chair of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, Lyn Mengich says.
Citing affordability and fiscal sustainability considerations, Ms Mengich advised Agencies not to consider any upward increases for their staff “unless there is a demonstration of the ability to afford it”.
Head of the Public Service, Felix Koskei urged officers to exercise patience as the Government attempted to find a remedy to the ailing economy.
“The nation has to live within its means as the Government lacks extra money to pay Civil Servants as it grapples with a high wage bill,” Mr Koskei said.
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Purr-fect world for Palace pusses
MEXICO CITY (April 10); Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has declared that some 19 cats prowling the Presidential Palace and its grounds are ‘living fixed assets’ the first animals in Mexico to receive the title usually reserved for buildings or furniture.
A Presidential spokesperson said the declaration effectively made the cats Public Servants, obligating the Treasury to provide feed and care for them for the rest of their lives.
“They have access to every part of the palace, so they walk in on meetings, interviews and wander onto camera. The cats are now a symbol of the National Palace,” the spokesperson said.
Mr López Obrador is often pictured at official functions accompanied by some of the cats. “They have no respect…they often walk in front of me during official ceremonies,” the President said.
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