LONDON (July 13): Ministers must stop “going around beating the Civil Service up” and blaming officials for policy failures, a senior Minister in the new United Kingdom Cabinet has said.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden said the Labour Government intended to create a culture of innovation and “learning as you go” for the Civil Service.
“You’re not going to drive change through the traditional method of writing a White Paper, throwing it over a wall and hoping something happens,” Mr McFadden (pictured) said.
“You’re going to have to break down some of those barriers between what gets put into practice and what gets created. You’re not going to do it by creating a single national policy without properly testing stuff on the ground and learning as you go.”
Mr McFadden said this approach would be a marked change from that of the previous Conservative Government, who he accused of “going around beating the Civil Service up”.
“There are new ways of policy innovation that have to happen and, frankly, I think it should make being in the Civil Service a richer, more rewarding experience, rather than being blamed for the failures of Ministers,” he said.
Mr McFadden could be referencing any number of incidents over the past few years, from allegations that former Ministers, Dominic Raab and Priti Patel had bullied bureaucrats to then Conservative Party Chair, Oliver Dowden telling Civil Servants working from home to “get off your Pelotons and back to work”.
The new Minister’s comments come as Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer sent a message to Civil Servants telling them they had his “confidence, support and respect”.
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Bangladesh job quota protests turn deadly
DHAKA (July 16): At least five people were killed and dozens injured in Bangladesh as student protests against a Government jobs quota led to violence.
Student protesters clashed with pro-government student activists and with police, and violence was reported around the capital of Dhaka, as well as the cities of Chattogram and Rangpur.
Officials said at least three of the dead were students, one was a pedestrian and one was not identified.
Protesters are demanding an end to a quota reserved for descendants of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971, which allows them to take up to 30 per cent of all Public Service jobs.
Protesters argue the quota is discriminatory and outdated, and should be replaced with a merit-based system. They also say it benefits supporters of Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, whose Awami League party led the independence movement.
While job opportunities have expanded in Bangladesh’s private sector, many people prefer Government jobs because they are seen as stable and lucrative. Each year, some 3,000 such jobs open up to nearly 400,000 graduates.
Sheikh Hasina defended the quota system, saying that the veterans — commonly known as freedom fighters — should receive the highest respect for their sacrifice in 1971 regardless of their current political affiliation.
The quota system had been temporarily halted following a court order after mass student protests in 2018. However, last month the High Court nullified that decision, reinstating the quota system, angering scores of students and triggering the protests.
The Supreme Court then suspended the High Court’s order for four weeks, with the Chief Justice urging protesting students to return to classes, and promising a final decision in four weeks. However, the protests have continued.
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Biden slams Trump’s plan for bureaucracy
WASHINGTON (July 14): United States President, Joe Biden says former President, Donald Trump’s radical plan to reshape the Federal Civil Service was one of the reasons he remains determined to stay in this year’s Presidential campaign.
His comments came among growing concerns from voters, elected officials and party donors about his age and health.
Citing Mr Trump’s plan to consolidate executive power and uproot the non-partisan Civil Service should he regain the White House, Mr Biden said one of the former President’s plans was to eliminate the Department of Education “we’ve never been here before”.
In the final months of Mr Trump’s first term in office he signed an Executive Order establishing a new job category within the Government’s Civil Service called Schedule F.
Federal workers in ‘policy-related positions would be transferred to this new job classification and stripped of most of their Civil Service protections, effectively making them at-will employees.
Mr Biden quickly rescinded the edict before it could be implemented at Federal Agencies, but Mr Trump has made Schedule F a common refrain in campaign speeches.
Mr Trump also reportedly supports Project 2025, a conservative transition proposal from the Heritage Foundation which has called for a massive recruitment campaign of upwards of 20,000 potential political appointees.
Project 2025 also calls for the Federal Government to cease reserving Senior Executive Service posts for career Civil Servants, rather than political appointees, and described Federal employee unions as “incompatible” with Government management.
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Civil Service cleared of systemic corruption
HONG KONG (July 15): Hong Kong’s Civil Service Bureau says the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has found no sign of collective corruption in the city’s bureaucracy following the arrest of several Government employees in a bribery case involving procurement projects for public hospitals.
The Bureau said it had logged a year-on-year 20 per cent decrease in pursuable corruption complaints in 2023, with only 42 cases involving its 170,000-strong force leading to related convictions between 2019 and 2023.
It shared the figures in a bid to reassure lawmakers after the ICAC revealed that Civil Servants were among eight people arrested in the bribery case.
The suspects included members of the Department of Electrical and Mechanical Services.
ICAC’s Community Relations Director, Corinna Wong said its own data found there was no indication of collective corruption in the Civil Service.
“The data also show no signs of a resurgence of collective corruption. So everyone can rest assured regarding the integrity of Public Servants,” Ms Wong said.
The Bureau said 42 Civil Servants had been convicted of corruption-related offences between 2019 and 2023.
Secretary for the Civil Service, Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan told lawmakers that among the 42, 11 were dismissed, four were forced to retire and three received severe reprimands that barred them from promotions or appointments for three-to-five years.
She said 20 had left the Government after being convicted, another had resigned beforehand and three were still undergoing disciplinary procedures.
Several lawmakers questioned whether Government workers were aware of the potential risks when handling official purchases, saying procurement was an area most prone to corruption issues.
Ms Yeung argued there was “no room for misunderstanding or confusion”, as the Government had a very clear procurement policy, and authorities would work alongside the ICAC to regularly review current practices.
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Chinese job-seekers sign up to AI tutors
BEIJING (July 15): With record numbers of people applying for China’s Civil Service examinations, education companies are rushing to develop artificial intelligence products that can help candidates pass the notoriously competitive tests.
Civil Service jobs, with their iron-clad job security, have become increasingly attractive to Chinese workers in recent years as the nation’s economy slowed.
Last year, an unprecedented 2.6 million people applied for the examinations, competing for fewer than 40,000 available positions.
Tutoring candidates to secure a job in the public sector has become a lucrative industry, with a host of Chinese education companies launching services specifically targeting the Civil Service examinations.
Now, these firms are racing to integrate AI into their products. Online company, Fenbi leads the pack with the announcement it has developed the country’s first specially-trained AI Civil Service examination tutor.
According to the company, the AI tutor is capable of crafting personalised study plans, teaching the Civil Service examination curriculum, and explaining questions.
It can also help customers select which Civil Service role to apply for — a choice that many in China struggle with given the huge variety of jobs on offer.
Civil Service applicant, Yan said she welcomed the new AI services as they were generally cheaper than hiring a human tutor.
“Though they might not be as good as humans, it’s great to have new alternatives,” Yan said, giving only her surname for privacy reasons.
The 25-year-old said she had already purchased an AI-powered service to help her prepare for Civil Service job interviews.
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Japan finally bids farewell to the floppy
TOKYO (July 13): It’s taken a while, but the Japanese Public Service has finally phased out floppy disks.
Until last month, citizens still had to submit documents to Government Departments via the outdated hardware, with more than 1,000 regulations requiring their use.
In 2022, Minister for Digital Transformation, Taro Kono ‘declared war’ on floppy disks, saying procedures would be updated to allow for applications to be made online.
“Where does one even buy a floppy disk these days?” he asked.
The Digital Agency has now reportedly scrapped all regulations relating to the use of floppy disks — except for one related to vehicle recycling, with Mr Kono declaring: “The war is won.”
Despite the country’s reputation for advanced technology, the Public Service has lagged behind in digital transformation due to issues such as under-investment and societal resistance.
Some Government Departments still use fax machines over email and require personal carved stamps known as hanko rather than a signature.
Mr Kono said another of his goals was to get rid of the fax machine.
Japan currently ranks 32nd out of 64 economies in the International Institute for Management Development’s world digital competitiveness ranking, behind regional peers Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China.
Mr Kono’s Digital Agency was established in 2021 after COVID-19 exposed inefficiencies such as the complicated and slow process of applying for benefits during the pandemic.
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Officers get funding for better health
SINGAPORE (July 13): Minister-in-charge of the Singapore Public Service, Chan Chun Sing has announced an annual benefit of $S500 ($A560) for Public Servants to be used for their health, growth and wellbeing.
Mr Chan said from October officers would be able to use the benefit, called FlexiGrow, "based on their own needs, for such as courses for personal development and fitness programs".
In addition, medical and dental benefits would be enhanced for all officers from 1 January, next year.
"We need to take care of ourselves; we need to take care of each other in this long journey ahead. This is what our Public Service is committed to," Mr Chan said.
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Former UK leader says AI will ‘save billions’
LONDON (July 13): Former United Kingdom Prime Minister, Sir Tony Blair has launched a policy paper pushing the potential for the Government to save billions of pounds a year through the greater use of artificial intelligence across the public sector.
The paper, published by Sir Tony’s think tank, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, states that by the end of the next Parliament, the annual savings could be £34 billion ($A65 billion) a year.
A related paper on the impact for the public sector workforce, acknowledged that over the same period around 1.15 million jobs would be lost, with redundancy payments in the region of £24 billion ($A46 billion).
The think tank said the current Government — and future Governments — could choose how they spent the money that would be saved by the use of AI, either investing the savings in better front-line services or banking the proceeds with the Treasury.
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President’s pay cut ‘for fiscal integrity’
MONROVIA (July 12): Liberian President, Joseph Nyuma Boakai has taken the unprecedented step of taking a voluntary 40 per cent cut in his salary.
In a statement, Mr Boakai said he was taking the action “in fulfilment of my commitment to fiscal integrity and national financial security, leading by example in strengthening Government accountability and demonstrating solidarity with the people”.
In addition to his own salary reduction, the President has pledged to empower the Civil Service Agency to ensure that Public Servants' salaries are in line with the current state of the nation and that workers receive fair compensation for their contributions to the country.
“I make a commitment to financial responsibility and fair compensation for Public Servants from various sectors of society as a positive step towards fostering a culture of accountability and equity within the Government,” Mr Boakai said.
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Ukrainian officers get website training
KYIV (July
12): Public Servants and Local Government workers from 12 regions of Ukraine
have undergone training in web accessibility organised by the United Nations
Development Program.
The two-day
course was completed in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Transformation
of Ukraine, with funding from Sweden, and involved writing texts, creating
videos, and producing other content for websites that was accessible to all
people, including those with disabilities.
Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for European Integration, Valeriia Ionan said all Ukrainians should have access to the benefits of the digital State.
“In addition to ensuring the digital literacy of the population, all
digital products must take into account the requirements of web accessibility
so that Ukrainians are able to use electronic services easily,” Ms Ionan said.
A
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