OTTAWA (May 4): Canadian Federal Public Servants are continuing to speak out over the Government’s insistence that most employees will work in their offices for three days a week beginning later this year.
Tanya King, a transgender and autistic worker for Public Services and Procurement Canada, said she was concerned about the possibility of having to spend more time in the office, given that she has faced harassment and micro-aggressions from her co-workers in the past.
Ms King has been working exclusively from home while waiting for her Agency to approve her request to work remotely, on medical advice.
“I’m worried that it will be a catch-all, they will want all of us to go in without considering it on a case-by-case basis,” Ms King said.
She also said the Government should address issues with workers’ access to workspaces and equipment before sending them back to the office more often.
“In the past I’ve definitely found myself dealing a lot with work pass issues, security, network issues, equipment issues, desks not having chairs,” Ms King said.
Telework has been a major point of contention among unions and was a sticking point during last year’s Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) strike that involved more than 155,000 workers.
Christine, a Federal Public Servant who asked that only her first name be shared due to fear of reprisal, said employees were furious about the news.
Former Clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Wernick rejected the complaints, noting that half of the Public Service — workers at parks, museums, border crossings and laboratories — had always had to go to their workplaces.
“Obviously flexibility has been very welcome for some people, especially people with family responsibilities, but organisations have paid a price for it in terms of team cohesion and some productivity issues, and passing on corporate values and culture,” Mr Wernick said.
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Minister defends ‘unprecedented’ pay boost
KUALA LUMPUR (May 5): Malaysia’s Human Resources Minister has defended the outcome of the long-awaited salary revision for Civil Servants which has awarded an unprecedented 13 per cent increase.
Steven Sim Chee Keong said the increase was “appropriate and reasonable, considering the increased efficiency of Government services.
“It is also fair to Public Servants, as the salary structure for the country's front-line workers has not seen real change for more than 10 years,” Mr Sim said.
Noting that news of such an increase had been questioned is some areas, he said that in a democratic society “we naturally cannot escape from differing opinions and criticism regarding this decision”.
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International Court rejects Gaza arms sales ban
THE HAGUE (May 4): The International Court of Justice has rejected a request by Nicaragua for an immediate order to Germany to halt military and other aid to Israel and to renew funding to the United Nations aid agency in Gaza.
The court ruled that legal conditions for making such an order had not been met and rejected the request in a 15-1 vote. German officials had told the court the country was barely exporting any arms to Israel.
In a statement, the German Foreign Ministry said Germany was not a party to the conflict in the Middle East — “on the contrary, we are working day and night for a two-State solution”.
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EU moves to prop-up Lebanon’s economy
BEIRUT (May 4): Lebanon is to receive €1 billion ($A1.6 billion) from the European Union to support its faltering economy and its security forces.
European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen said the package would help bolster basic services, including health and education, and would take forward economic, financial and banking reforms.
She said support to the Lebanese army and other security Agencies would be focused on providing training, equipment and infrastructure to improve border management.
Lebanon's economy began to unravel in 2019 after decades of profligate spending and corruption. However, vested interests in the ruling elite have stalled financial reforms that would grant Lebanon access to a $US3 billion ($A4.5 billion) aid package from the International Monetary Fund.
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Jersey to trim ‘largest ever’ bureaucracy
ST HELIER (May 7): Jersey's Chief Minister, Lyndon Farnham has predicted jobs could go in the Channel Island’s Civil Service.
Mr Farnham said the Government was planning to curb the use of consultants and fixed-term contracts with outside companies.
He was commenting on new figures which show Jersey’s public sector is now the largest it has ever been.
"We'll be looking at various roles in the Cabinet Office, including communications and management structures right across the public sector — money for essentials such as health and roads is not at risk,” Mr Farnham said.
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NI takes action to improver diversity
BELFAST (May 7): The Northern Ireland Civil Service has launched its Diversity Action Plan, setting out how it intends to improve diversity and inclusion within the bureaucracy across the themes of gender, disability, LGBTQ+, race and ethnicity.
Welcoming the plan, Finance Minister, Caoimhe Archibald said diversity and inclusion was rightly a key strategic priority for the Civil Service.
“By having it at the heart of everything we do will help us attract and retain the best, most diverse talent; create diversity of thought to support better policy-making, and deliver better services to the people,” Ms Archibald said.
“The Civil Service continues to make progress in its diversity and inclusion journey and this year’s plan provides the framework to build on our successes and drive further improvements to be a truly diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive”.
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