Trump’s PS purge looms
WASHINGTON (December 23): United States President, Donald Trump’s Executive Order allowing for the reclassification of many senior Public Service jobs has so far survived Congressional attempts to block it.
The new category of Schedule F makes it easier to hire and fire across a range of policy-making and supervisory positions by removing Public Service protections and union representation.
Already, the Office of Management and Budget has reclassified 88 per cent of its jobs under Schedule F, raising the spectre of a purge of the Public Service ranks in the waning days of the Trump Administration.
Chair of the Government Operations Sub-committee in the House of Representatives, and a leading critic of the move, Gerry Connolly said he would now work with the incoming Administration of Joe Biden to have the Executive Order overturned.
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US watchdog roles left unfilled
WASHINGTON (December 27): United States President, Donald Trump is apparently going to leave office having made no attempt to fill the yawning gaps in the country’s Public Service Inspectorate.
President-elect, Joe Biden will inherit widespread vacancies in watchdog offices across the Government. At least a dozen of the 38 presidentially-appointed Inspectors General will not be in place at the end of the Trump Administration.
Incoming Chair of the Inspectors General Council, Allison Lerner said filling the jobs in Federal Agencies, ranging from the Departments of Defence and Health and Human Services to the CIA, will require “a heavy lift”.
The vacancies follow one of the most contentious periods for Inspectors General, several of whom were targeted for removal by Mr Trump.
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Money for PS pay running out
NAIROBI (December 22): Kenya’s Public Servants are facing a bleak New Year with the nation’s Treasury saying it is running out of money to pay them.
Cabinet Secretary, Ukur Yatani said increased demands and lower collections by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) because of the COVID-19 pandemic could force the Government to postpone some payments.
Mr Yatani said it may also be necessary to freeze some essential Government services.
“As we do this, we are suspending or postponing some of the payments for salaries because the money is not there. Unfortunately we have no other words to say. It is just not there,” Mr Yatani told Parliament.
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Big jump in NZ wage bill
WELLINGTON (December 28): The New Zealand Public Service wage bill has increased by $NZ550 million ($A512 million), or 13 per cent in the past year.
A further 62 Public Service staff were paid salaries of more than $NZ200,000 ($A186,200) representing a five per cent increase.
Altogether, 1,247 staff now earn above that amount. However, the number of people earning $400,000 ($A372,400) a year almost halved — from 30 to 16.
Over the past decade the total cost of salaries in the public sector has gone up by 69 per cent, to $4.84 billion ($A4.5 billion). The average salary is now $84,500 ($A78,700), up four per cent on the year before.
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Irish teachers mark down pay deal
DUBLIN (December 19): Ireland’s main union representing teachers says it will oppose the new Public Service pay agreement.
In a statement, the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) said the limited measures contained in the proposed agreement “will not end the ongoing scandal of pay discrimination for second-level teachers employed on or after January 1, 2011”.
“The proposed new deal and will not address the two-tier pay issue at all for the other recruitment grades in which TUI represents members,” the statement said.
Under the new proposals, most Public Service personnel will receive a one per cent pay rise in October 2021 and another in October 2022.
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Extra chance for exam applicants
NEW DELHI (December 20): The Indian Government has told the country’s Supreme Court that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is giving “active consideration” to an extra chance for Public Service examination aspirants affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The court was hearing a petition from candidates whose examination preparations were disrupted by the pandemic and who would be ineligible next year because of the upper-age limit.
Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta said the UPSC was aware of the candidates’ plight and was preparing a proposal to give one more opportunity to the affected students. “We are not taking an adversarial stand,” he said.
The court posted the matter for a further hearing on January 11, 2021.
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NI public services complaints rise
BELFAST (December 26): Northern Ireland’s Public Services Ombudsman says complaints about public services increased by more than a third in 2019.
Margaret Kelly said concerns over record keeping at the Environment Agency regarding effluent treatment on a river were among those her office upheld.
“Our 50th year coincided with an unprecedented increase in demand for our services. We received 1,043 new complaints, a significant increase of 37 per cent from the previous year and an increase for the fourth consecutive year,” Ms Kelly said.
“To put this into a longer term context, in 2015-16 the former offices of the Northern Ireland Assembly Ombudsman and the Commissioner for Complaints jointly received 477 complaints.”
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Station converts to public service
LUXEMBOURG CITY (December 21): Luxembourg’s Government Council has approved a Bill to establish Radio Station 100.7 as public service media.
The new law calls on the Station to design programing of “generalist information, culture, and entertainment”. It will remain an independent public institution with financial and administrative autonomy.
The current nine State representatives on the 100.7 management board will be reduced to three, bringing in six new independent members from civil society.
The draft Bill also calls for regular audience consultation through advisory meetings or other appropriate means. Advertising will remain forbidden, while patronage will continue under strict conditions.
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Union anger over court rejection
PRETORIA (December 24): South Africa’s National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers says it is dismayed by the decision of the Labour Appeal Court to dismiss its application to force the Government to implement the last leg of the Public Service wage agreement.
National Convenor, Sello Malema said the union was studying the judgement to see if there were other legal options.
“In the meantime, I call on Public Servants to prepare for a general strike next year,” Mr Malema said.
“Public Servants will not remain victims and continue to suffer the consequences of unethical and corrupt political elements in this country.”
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Call for women to join service
BERN (December 26): Former head of the Swiss Army, Philippe Rebord has called for compulsory military or Public Service to be extended to women.
Currently, all able-bodied Swiss men aged 18 or over must serve in the military or spend time in the Public Service. Women can serve, but are not required to do so.
Mr Rebord said an extension of the system would boost the army. “Women have much to offer,” he said.
One woman who chose to serve in the military, Noémie Roten, said an extension of the system would allow every citizen to serve their nation in a way that fitted best with their talents and aspirations. Ms Roten currently works as a journalist.
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Biometrics exorcise ghost workers
HARARE (December 24): Zimbabwe’s Public Service Commission (PSC) says a World Bank-assisted biometric exercise had identified at least 10,000 ghost workers in the Public Service.
Head of Human Capital Development and Management at the PSC, Moses Mhike said the operation was continuing.
“We conducted a biometric exercise to get the data of all Civil Servants and compared it with that from the Registrar’s office. We realised that about 10 000 were not biometric compliant and traced them at each and every work station,” Mr Mhike said.
He said the exercise would soon switch to checks on Government pensions and transport allowances for Public Servants.
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Court told of ‘secret’ PS changes
PESHAWAR (December 25): The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has agreed to hear a petition from a senior Public Servant alleging the Federal Government is making “secret amendments” to the rules government the Public Service.
Counsel for the petitioner argued that the move represented “an assault on the scheme of administrative federalism laid down in the Constitution”.
“Neither the Federal Civil Servants Act of 1973, nor the Constitution, empowers the Federal Government to make any appointments to any provincial posts — they are an exclusively provincial matter,” the lawyer argued.
"However, this power is being exercised behind closed doors, to the detriment of a Provincial Civil Servant like the petitioner."
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Royal consent to PS overhaul
THIMPHU (December 22): The King of Bhutan has given his assent to a systemic overhaul of the country’s Public service.
Speaking during National Day celebrations, the King, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, said the COVID-19 pandemic had given new insights and taught many lessons and “Bhutanese must not forego such a valuable opportunity”.
“While the Civil Service is one of the most important institutions of the country, it has several problems. The present structure is not suited for future challenges and responsibilities,” the King said.
“The clear message to the Civil Servants is that they know when to reform their institutions to keep abreast with the changing times.”
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Extra holidays to boost tourism
LA PAZ (December 24): The Government of Bolivia is giving extra holidays to its 500,000 Public Servants in the hope they will use the time to boost the tourist industry.
Depending on the number of years of service, public employees currently receive between two and four weeks of annual leave, but that time will be boosted by between 20 and 30 per cent as long as the extra holidays are spent within the country.
In 2019, the country received 1.47 million foreign tourists that spent an average of $US936 ($A1,240) according to the National Statistics Institute.
However, Bolivia shut its borders in March as COVID-19 began to spread and that income shrank to zero, with 100,000 employees thrown out of work.
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PS pandemic fatalities remembered
MANILA (December 28): Chair of the Philippines Civil Service Commission (CSC), Alicia dela Rosa-Bala has paid tribute to frontline Public Service staff who have given their lives in the nation’s battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.
In her end-of-year message Ms Rosa-Bala said it was heartbreaking to lose many Public Servant heroes “but please know that the CSC joins the bereaved families in honouring them”.
She also expressed gratitude to Government workers still striving to rise above the challenges brought by the pandemic.
“This has been a tough year for all of us, but your unwavering dedication to serve the Filipino people amid adversities has given us inspiration, hope, and faith in God and in humanity,” Ms Rosa-Bala said.
The full International PS News service will resume on January 19
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