31 January, 2012
IRELAND

Thousands take up retirement offer

More than 4,000 members of the Irish Public Service are expected to retire in the first two months of this year to take advantage of an early retirement scheme that ends this month.
   Of the staff taking advantage of the scheme, about half were from the education sector, 794 from the Public Service, 730 from Local Authorities, 192 from the Defence Forces and 297 from the police.
   Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin said that between last September and the end of February, about 3,500 people were expected to leave the health services.
   “I have indicated that I will be flexible in seeking to ensure that frontline services are protected,” Mr Howlin said.
   He said that although retirements might reach 9,000 in a full year, up to 3,000 new staff could be recruited into the Public Service.
   Mr Howlin said the staff reductions were part of the Government’s plan to reduce PS numbers.
   “The Government’s strategy is comprehensive, ground-breaking and different, and I expect it to bear fruit in the coming years,” he said.
   Mr Howlin said the Minister for Education, Ruairí Quinn had announced that teachers involved with examination classes, and retiring between the end of last year and next month, could continue on the payroll up to the conclusion of the examinations.
   Meanwhile it was revealed that the Secretary General of the Department of Health, Michael Scanlan is to retire on a package of €540,000 ($A671,000) after securing an increase in his pension.
   Mr Scanlan is 55 and his seven-year contract runs out in April.
   He is to see out his contract instead of taking a higher pension by leaving before the February deadline for retirements.
   After completing his contract he will have served more than 38 years as a Public Servant, but his service will be ‘topped up’ to bring him to 40 years.
   This is considered ‘full service’, a factor that will boost his annual pension.
   The Government plans to replace Mr Scanlan in an open competitive recruitment process.

31 January, 2012
THAILAND

Pay boost for qualified staff

Thailand’s Public Servants with university degrees are in line to receive a 64 per cent payrise over the next two years.
   The Ministry of Finance is to forward the 18.8 billion baht ($A500 million) plan to the Thai Cabinet for approval which, if given, will be implemented immediately.
   Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra won last year’s election with promises to raise living standards, including Public Service salaries
   Under the new rate structure, minimum salaries for Public Servants with bachelor’s degrees will be raised from 9,140 baht ($A275) a month to 11,680 baht ($A352) and increased again to 15,000 baht ($A452) starting in 2013.
   Maximum salaries for new Public Servants will also be increased, to 12,390 baht ($A373) a month this year and 16,500 baht ($A497) in 2013.
   Salary ranges for officials with higher or lower educational qualifications will receive similar increases.
   Technical school graduates, for instance, will have their monthly salary ranges raised from 7,620 ($230) to 8,080 baht ($A243) this year and to 9,000 ($271) in 2013.
   Officials with doctorate degrees, now fixed at a minimum salary of 17,000 baht ($A512) a month, will have their salaries raised to 19,000 baht ($A572) this year and 21,000 ($A633) in 2013.

31 January, 2012
KENYA

Pay review to tackle disparities

A job evaluation and salary survey are to be conducted within the Kenyan Public Service.
   The initiative is aimed at tackling salary disparity by comparing pay grades in the Public Service against those in the private sector.
   Chair of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, Sarah Serem said the exercise would be carried out by the Commission which would determine salary scales and move to correct pay imbalances.
   “It is true we have had salary disparities for a long time,” Ms Serem said.
   “What have caused these disparities are historical issues due to parallel structures.”
   She said to understand where the disparities were it would be necessary to carry out the thorough job evaluation.
   She said that under the job evaluation system, the value of a job would be determined in a systematic way which would allow the Commission to determine equal pay for equal value of a specific job.
   “We will also carry out a market survey to solve salary disparities that exist in public jobs,” Ms Serem said.
   “Lack of a continuous pay review of Public Service remuneration has led some Public Servants to develop apathy towards work, while others have used their offices as bases for private business.”
   She cautioned those expecting their pay to be reviewed soon to be patient as the process would take time.
   “Requisite systems are being put in place,” Ms Sarem said
   “We will first look into at the current salaries then critically examine the disparities.”

31 January, 2012
CANADA

Services threatened by cuts

A new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has estimated that between 60,000 and 68,000 Public Service jobs could disappear in the next few years as a result of Government spending cuts.
   The report said that even allowing for people who would have retired anyway, a great many people would be added to the unemployment ranks, many drawing employment insurance for long periods.
   It said it was difficult to imagine losing that number of people from the Federal Public Service without some sort of drop in the “service” part of the equation.
   “It’s likely there was some bureaucratic fat that could be trimmed, but it’s also likely that removing 60,000-plus people from Government jobs will have some effect on the work produced,” the report said.
   The Union of Veterans’ Affairs Employees has warned that proposed budget cuts In the Department of Veterans Affairs will result in 500 job losses by 2015.
   Union leader Yvan Thauvette said the cuts threatened 350 frontline staff who worked directly with around 200,000 clients.
   MP for the Opposition New Democratic Party, Peter Stoffer said Canadian veterans already waited too long for service from the Department.
   “On average, it takes at least 16 weeks for a veteran to receive a response from Veterans Affairs and possibly years to resolve a claim,” Mr Stoffer said.
   “Many of these veterans are struggling with physical and mental health issues and don’t need an added struggle to obtain the services to which they’re entitled.”
   A spokesman for Minister for Veterans Affairs, Steve Blaney said services and benefits for veterans would be maintained despite the cost-cutting measures.

31 January, 2012
UNITED KINGDOM

Defence attacked over military sackings

The British House of Commons Defence Committee is angered that not a single Public Servant in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been forced to leave while thousands of soldiers, sailors and airmen have been made redundant.
   MPs on the Committee said they were shocked that sacked Armed Service personnel could not be retrained for specialist posts such as bomb disposal.
   The MPs questioned whether redundancy terms were “fair or appropriate” between the two branches of Service in the Ministry. They said PS staff, unlike Service people, were able to join trade unions.
   The Committee was unimpressed by evidence given by the Ministry’s most senior Public Servant, Ursula Brennan, who suggested civilians were “flexibly employable” whereas military personnel were not.
   “A very large number of the Civil Service have flexible skills that enable them to work in a variety of places,” Ms Brennan said.
   The Committee report said her view ran contrary to the Committee’s experience of the breadth of the military training and the skills shown by personnel as witnessed on operations.
   “We were not convinced by the reasons given for this situation by the MoD - that Public Servants had generic skills and could be more readily transferred,” the report said.
   The MPs recommended that sacked troops should be given the opportunity to retrain for trades needed in the Armed Forces and that the MoD provide a detailed explanation of how it planned to address a shortfall in specialist posts such as intelligence and medical.

31 January, 2012
IRELAND

Retirees retained as contractors

Retired Public Servants in Ireland have been rehired on contracts that cost more than €40 million ($A50 million), a newspaper report has revealed.
   The rehired workers are still eligible for their PS pensions, the report said.
   The Irish Independent found the average value of temporary contracts in 2010 to be almost €10,000 ($A12,400), which each re-employed retiree received on top of their pension.
   The Department of Finance confirmed that the retirees’ pension entitlements would only be affected if the extra work took their salary above what they earned as their final year salary.
   The investigation analysed the accounts of 41 Government Departments and Agencies, submitted to the Comptroller and Auditor General between 2008 and 2010.
   The figures showed that the Health Service Executive (HSE) was the biggest re-employer of staff, re-hiring doctors, nurses, dentists and administrators.
   The Courts Service also implemented the practice saying it used “retired, experienced” staff to conduct internal audits to ensure the Courts were being properly run.
   The Department of Finance said it engaged five former officers to work on various issues including the Banking Commission and the independent review of the Department.
   The police used retired Public Servants to sit on interview panels and act as examiners and the Department of the Environment hired 11 officers to sit on expert groups and conduct value-for-money reviews.
   The Valuation Office said that one retired officer was employed while a replacement was being trained.

31 January, 2012
NAMIBIA

Lazy staff put on notice

Latecomers, chain-draggers and porn viewers will no longer be tolerated in the Namibian Public Service, PS workers have been told.
   Prime Minister, Nahas Angula said these inefficiencies hampered service delivery and accountability.
   “Supervisors are required to ensure that assignments and tasks are completed on time,” Mr Angula said.
   “No more lame excuses; accountability should be the watchword in 2012.”
   He reminded Public Servants that performance management should not become just fashionable jargon.
   “Performance management means that those who are performing must be recognised and rewarded,” he said.
   “Those who are under-performing should be assisted to improve their performance, and those who are not performing at all must be weeded out.”
   Mr Angula said the Public Service must become accountable, rewarding effort and punishing laggards.
   “This is the only way Namibia can emerge as a winning nation,” he said.
   “Mediocrity must therefore become a sin in the Namibian Public Service.
   “The year 2012 must be a year of service and accountability in the Public Service of Namibia.”
   He was supported in his comments by the Director of the Anti-Corruption Commission of Namibia, Paulus Noa who criticised uncommitted employees.
   “There are people who are just collecting salaries,” Mr Noa said.
   “It is corruption in terms of theft.
   “These people get full salaries without having worked for it.:”
   He said such activities needed to be rooted out because they were crippling the economy.
   He said he had confiscated computers in Government offices with downloaded pornography.
   “Official Government business does not require pornography,” Mr Noa said.

31 January, 2012
SWAZILAND

Workers sacked for transfer

The task of transferring former Public Servants in the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA) to a statutory body, the Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority (SWACAA) has been completed.
   In doing so the Government had to, in effect, sack all the workers so they could be re-employed by SWACAA.
   The move ended a period of confusion during which the workers remained in the Public Service but reported to SWACAA.
   Principal Secretary at the Ministry for Public Service, Evart Madlopha said the Government had written letters of termination to the workers.
   Mr Madlopha said he was not yet sure if the workers had received their outstanding benefits in the transfer.
   He said the Civil Service Commission (CSC) was responsible for issuing the letters as it was responsible for hiring and firing Public Servants.
   Secretary General of the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union, Vincent Dlamini said it was agreed in principle that the Government would terminate the employment of employees of the old DCA so that they could properly transfer to the Aviation Authority.
   He said that last year the Public Servants marched to the Ministry where they demanded an answer from Government on who their boss was.
   “They felt that this uncertainty cost them good job opportunities,” Mr Dlamini said.

31 January, 2012
ZIMBABWE

PS slammed as ‘contemptuous’

Workers in the Zimbabwean Public Service have been criticised for allegedly showing ‘contempt’ to the general public.
   Minister for Finance, Tendai Biti levelled the criticism but reserved his harshest comments for employees of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA).
   Mr Biti said the PS was not an “island of Fascism where you get people being asked to remove their clothes and shoes in the name of inspection”.
   “They have no respect for our people and our appeal is to not only those at ZIMRA but also those in other areas like the Registrar General’s Office to show respect to these, their paymasters,” Mr Biti said.
   The Minister said new tariff structures would be reviewed and a policy direction would be made in due course.
   “Public servants must therefore serve the people and not show contempt and utter disregard for their intelligence,” he said.
   “It’s unacceptable and we hope they will listen.”
   Mr Biti said Commissioner General of ZIMRA, Gershom Pasi’s contract was being looked at by the ZIMRA Board.
   “The Board is dealing with the issue and trying to follow the law, after which it will report to the Minister,” he said.
   “My position will be guided by these reports and the law will be followed religiously – so if a contract expires there is obvious need to either renew or find a new face to fill the vacancy.”
   Reports indicate that Mr Biti is unwilling to renew Mr Pasi’s contract which expired last October.

31 January, 2012
And From the World in Brief...

KENYA
Public Servants in Kenya are to get a new salary structure based on performance and service delivery.
   At present, huge disparities exist among Public Servants, often among those doing the same job.
   As an example, Permanent Secretaries who have risen through the ranks earn slightly more than Sh200,000 ($A2,214) a month compared to some counterparts headhunted from the private sector who earn more than Sh1 million ($A11,069).

SINGAPORE
The heads of the Singapore Civil Defence and the Central Narcotics Bureau have been replaced after allegations of serious personal misconduct against them.
   The move resulted from the first high-level investigation of Public Servants in almost two decades.
   It follows allegations of bribery and corruption which affected Singapore’s reputation for clean government and cost it top place in Transparency International’s corruption index.

ZIMBABWE
PS staff in Zimbabwe have called off a five-day strike so that negotiations with the Government can resume.
   Representative body, the Apex Council said the Public Servants were dedicated to efficient delivery of services and wanted to normalise the situation quickly.
   The Council said it hoped PS salaries would be raised above the poverty line.

GUERNSEY
A new pensions scheme for PS staff in Guernsey is scheduled for introduction in the second half of 2012.
   The plan will be formulated by a joint working party chaired by United Kingdom pensions expert Rodney Benjamin.
   Mr Benjamin is to oversee talks between the States (Guernsey Parliament) and the PS. He said he expected the island to avoid the pension strikes seen in the United Kingdom.

SCOTLAND
The Opposition parties have questioned why the head of the Public Service in Scotland withheld two emails in the continuing controversy over his part in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
   Permanent Secretary of the Scottish Government, Sir Peter Housden has released only four of the six e-mails exchanged between Chief Special Adviser to First Minister, Alex Salmond, Kevin Pringle, and political expert, Professor Matt Qvortrup about the independence referendum.
   Sir Peter has been accused of taking political sides by talking up a Scottish National Party victory in the referendum.

24 January, 2012
ZAMBIA

PS pension scheme can’t pay

Retirees from the Zambian Public Service may miss out on their lump sum benefits following the announcement that their PS Pensions Fund (PSPF) is K15 trillion ($A277 billion) in the red.
   Director of National Planning at the Ministry of Finance, Siazongo Siakalenge said the PSPF was experiencing serious financial challenges that were threatening its viability and sustainability.
   Dr Siakalenge said the Fund was currently in financial distress and was unable to pay benefits to retirees.
   He said pensioners could have to wait for a year before they would get their benefits.
   He said the Fund had been unable to maintain the value of pensions and had not awarded any increments to pensioners for the past three years.
   Dr Siakalenge said the problem had arisen from inappropriate pension scheme designs and closure of the scheme to new entrants in February 2000, when the National Pensions Scheme Authority was created.
   He said the Fund had put in place remedial measures to avoid delays in paying retirees benefits in future.
   Operation Manager at the PSPF, Richard Mwinga said the deficit of K15 trillion had been accumulating since 2000.
   He attributed the problem to the current design of the scheme where employees contributed less to PSPF but got more from it.
   Dr Mwinga said each contributor created a liability, which later created deficits.
   “The design of the scheme is inappropriate,” Dr Mwinga said.
   “There is no direct linkage between contributors and benefits.”
   He said Government reform of the scheme was urgently needed.


24 January, 2012
INTERNATIONAL

PS fraud on the rise

Fraud in the public sector was on the increase all over the world according to a new international survey.
   The survey, conducted by accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found that asset misappropriation, accounting fraud and bribery and corruption headed the list of public sector wrongdoings.
   It said that a large number of frauds were committed by employees who were trusted by their organisations and who had been given access to significant amounts of data.
   It also found a rise in procurement frauds.
   The survey showed that despite being the most likely perpetrators of fraud, public sector workers were less likely than other employees to be dismissed over fraudulent acts.
   PwC said it was easy for individuals to simply transfer Departments, leaving them free to commit their crimes over and over again.
   “If public sector organisations are to adopt a zero tolerance approach to economic crime, they need to consider seriously the actions taken against fraudulent behaviour,” the report entitled, Fighting Fraud in Government said.
   It said of the Government and other public sector respondents, 46 per cent reported experiencing one or more incidents of economic crime in the past year, up by more than 10 per cent on the results of an earlier survey conducted in 2009 and well above the average of 34 per cent across the private sector.
   “As the Public Service market becomes more open and suppliers more diverse with more voluntary and private sector organisations becoming involved in delivering public services, Procurement Departments will also face a whole raft of new challenges,” the report said.
   It warned that supplier frauds would still occur because prevention was often reliant on the vigilance of employees, and traditional detective measures could easily miss fraud that was hidden within millions of transactions and thousands of suppliers.
   The report warned that Governments could not ignore the growing risk, not least because of the personal and confidential data held that made them prime targets for attack.


24 January, 2012
KENYA

Crackdown on private work in PS

Public Servants in Kenya have been told to relinquish any private businesses they owned and close any overseas bank accounts.
   A statement from the Commission on Administrative Justice said this was necessary under the new Constitution which prohibited employees of the State from maintaining bank accounts outside the country.
   Chairman of the Commission, Otiende Amollo said that Public Servants who were citizens of other countries were also required to renounce that citizenship.
   He said the Commission would collaborate with the Central Bank of Kenya to track State officials with bank accounts abroad.
   “We will have to work with the Ministry of Immigration to find out who might have dual citizenship,” Mr Amollo said.
   Attorney General, Githu Muigai said his Office would work with the Commission.
   “The work you are poised to do is absolutely important for the future of an open and transparent Government in this country,” Mr Muigai said.
   Mr Amollo said the Commission had been given a wide mandate to promote good governance and efficient PS delivery by enforcing the right to fair administrative action.
   He said the Commission had a mandate to deal with maladministration, ensuring compliance with leadership, integrity and ethics requirements.
   Mr Amollo said the Commission had been given legal powers to conduct investigations on its own initiative, or on a complaint made by a member of the public about a public officer.


24 January, 2012
UNITED STATES

Retiree backlog to be cleared

The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has announced that a backlog of more than 48,000 pension claims is to be cleared within 18 months.
   The Office said extra staff would be hired and more overtime paid in order to complete the task.
   According to the OPM, the average time to process a new retirement claim under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) was 156 days.
   OPM’s goal was to evaluate 90 per cent of new retirement claims within 60 days of receipt from Agencies.
   A report produced by the Office said it planned to hire 56 additional legal administrative specialists and 20 new customer service specialists who would help prepare cases for the legal administrative specialists.
   The report said the legal administrative specialists would be hired and trained by July, and customer service specialist positions would be filled in the next six weeks.
   OPM said a legal administrative specialist could currently be expected to produce at least 700 claims per year but it planned to increase that rate to about 1,100 claims per year.
   It would also look at improving how claims were submitted and conduct an audit of Agencies submitting incomplete cases which caused frequent delays.
   OPM said its efforts to improve and speed processing of retirement claims over the past 20 years had focused almost exclusively on automation and information technology improvements.
   It would now take a different approach.


24 January, 2012
MALAYSIA

Anger over payrise imbalance

Public Servants in Malaysia are up in arms over a new pay structure they say is unfair to lower paid staff.
   Under their revised salary scheme, top-ranking Government workers are to be paid as much as RM80,000 ($A24,800) a month while some lower ranking officials are to receive just a RM1.70 ($A0.50) increase in monthly wages.
   Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has ordered a review of the new pay scheme after protests from the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs).
   Deputy President of Cuepacs, Azih Muda declined to comment on the contrast between different levels of PS pay and instead pointed out that the Government had already announced the review.
   “I would prefer not to comment on it,” Mr Azih said.
   “The Government has already formed a task force to look into the matter... its implementation has been postponed, so I believe the Government will look into it.
   Cuepacs had previously demanded the Government delay implementation of the new pay scheme, after complaining it was not consulted on the matter.
   In the meantime, the former Director General of the Public Services Department, Tan Sri Ismail Adam urged Public Servants to write directly to the Government to air their grievances.
   Tan Sri Ismail, who chairs the taskforce formed to review the scheme, said he had read a lot about Public Servants’ dissatisfaction.
   “It shows that the feeling was already there from the beginning of the issue, and now is the time for them to officially write to us,” Tan Sri Ismail said.


24 January, 2012
UNITED KINGDOM

Record losses of IT staff

The numbers of public sector IT staff in the United Kingdom were reduced by 5,000 in 2011 – the largest reduction in 25 years.
   Research from the Society of Information Technology Management (SOCITM), which represents public sector IT professionals, found that 22,000 IT staff were lost in the year, an 18.5 percent fall over 2010.
   SOCITM said authorities were turning to technology to mitigate dramatically reduced budgets, and identified the top two organisational efficiency programs being pursued as shared services and self-service.
   It said other key initiatives included remote working, virtualisation and document management.
   President of SOCITM, Glyn Evans said the influence of information and communications technology continued to rise as more services were directly delivered through lower-cost ICT-assisted channels.
   “Technology is also helping reduce accommodation costs as the workforce becomes more mobile,” Mr Evans said.
   He said ‘bring your own device’ policies were becoming more popular in with 90 per cent of respondents saying they were happy to allow the workforce to use their home PC to carry out work functions; 60 per cent allowed the use of the employee’s laptop and 30 per cent the use of smartphones.
   Mr Evans said Public Service providers also planned to use a wide range of new service models with Cloud, G-cloud and utility computing featuring in their plans.


24 January, 2012
SOUTH AFRICA

Government jobs growth soars

Public Service employment is growing four times faster than overall employment in South Africa, a new survey has found.
   The South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) said Public Service employment grew 22 per cent in the past decade, from around1.1 million workers at the end of 2001 to more than 1.3 million at the end of last year.
   The SAIRR report said total employment grew less than five per cent, from 12.5 million to 13.1 million in the same period.
   Analysts were concerned that even though the Government was employing more people, it was not filling positions required to improve service delivery and help boost economic growth.
   An economist at investment manager Stanlib, Kevin Lings said it was wrong to employ for the sake of employing.
   “Service delivery has to be borne in mind whenever the Government takes on new staff,” Mr Lings said.
   “My concern is that the Government has not employed the right people, such as mathematics teachers, which we need.”
   He said the Government had historically paid less than the private sector, leaving it with a skills shortage, and it had to outsource legal, engineering and other skilled services at a premium. This had put pressure on the Government’s wage bill.
   “The State is employing more quickly than it used to,” he said.
   “These people join the already large wage bill, which has grown at 17 per cent each year over the past five years or so.”
   Research Manager at SAIRR, Lucy Holborn said the Government’s target of creating five million jobs by 2020 would require 40 per cent growth in employment over the next decade.
   “This is eight times higher than has occurred over the past decade,” Ms Holborn said.


24 January, 2012
ZIMBABWE

Mixed messages over PS strike

Controversy reigns over whether a one-day strike by Zimbabwe Public Service unions achieved its objectives.
   Government sources said it failed, with most workers reporting for duty, however union leaders claimed the action as a success and were pressing their demands for increased wages.
   President of the Apex Council, which represents all of Zimbabwe’s public sector unions, Tendai Chikowore said most Public Servants had heeded the call to strike.
   “There has been an overwhelming response,” Mr Chikowore said.
   “Of course it is not 100 per cent because other people have reported for duty here and there, but that is a normal situation.
   Other reports said most Departments functioned normally however and teaching was under way in classes at Government schools.
   PS staff are demanding increases for all workers including a minimum monthly wage of $US538, ($A517) up from $200 ($A192) for entry-level employees.
   They also want medical insurance, improved pensions and a special allowance for workers in rural areas.
   Public Servants have been engaged in industrial action for the past decade to support demands for better wages and employment conditions.
   Minister for Finance, Tendai Biti said salaries already consumed more that 60 per cent of Zimbabwe’s annual budget, to the detriment of health, education and infrastructure development.
   Mr Chikowore expressed disappointment at the attitude of the Government to the plight of its employees.
   “It is a betrayal of our trust,” he said.
   “They are not sincere and they are just buying time.”


24 January, 2012
IRELAND

Strong response to cost-cutting call

More than 1,000 ideas on how to save money have been sent in to the Irish Government.
   The avalanche of good advice follows a public consultation project last year supporting a comprehensive review of expenditure.
   The ideas range from general issues to very detailed proposals based on the experiences of public sector workers such as police, nurses and teachers.
   The majority of submissions relate to ways of creating more efficiencies or cutting spending in areas like social welfare and health.
   Many of the submissions expressed dissatisfaction with how payments to job seekers were made and proposed ways to involve the estimated 450,000 unemployed people in community work.
   Many also suggest tougher requirements for signing on to unemployment benefits and proposed anti-fraud measures such as the introduction of fingerprint scanning or a requirement to produce a passport.
   One contributor proposed that unemployment benefits should be conditional on being available for community work each week.
   Another proposed welfare reforms including limiting the duration of the 20 hours that lone parents are allowed to work without it affecting their benefits.
   Health spending was the source of many submissions, with members of the public suggesting ways of cutting numbers of managers and securing greater efficiency in the dispensing of medicine.
   A number of submissions urged the Government not to remove a 50c (SA0.62) levy on prescriptions for medical card holders, with pharmacists and doctors saying it helped eliminate the supply of unnecessary medicines.
   A spokeswoman for the Minister for Public Enterprise, Brendan Howlin, who initiated the consultation, said all suggestions were examined from the point of view of “practicality, feasibility, savings achievable, compliance with European Union and Irish law and standards”.


24 January, 2012
And From the World in Brief...

IRELAND
The Irish Minister for Public Expenditure, Brendan Howlin has defended €250 million ($A310 million) worth of public sector pay increments.
   Mr Howlin said the increments were a fairer way of controlling public pay and questioned why they had become the subject of public debate.
   He said half of all increments were paid to those on clerical office grades earning an average of €22,000 ($A310,500) a year.

HUNGARY
A new Hungarian university, specifically for Public servants, has been officially opened by Prime Minister, Viktor Orban.
   The university was founded last March through the merger of the Zrinyi Miklos Defence University, the Police Officers College and the Faculty of Economics of Corvinus University in Budapest.
   Mr Orban said the university would cater for those who viewed service to the homeland and the public as their profession.

CHINA
Free medical services to Public Servants have been withdrawn in 24 of China’s 31 provincial-level regions.
   A media report said the Public Servants and employees in public institutions who had lost access to free medical services had joined the basic health insurance system, getting the same treatment as local residents.
   The report said most Public Servants were in favour of the reform as it helped end conflicts between the Government and the people, and saved money for the Government.

SCOTLAND
The Head of Scotland’s Public Service, Sir Peter Housden has been accused of taking political sides by talking up a Scottish National Party victory in a referendum on Scottish independence.
   Sir Peter gave Public Servants a briefing in which he said if the vote was ‘no’ there would be no change but if the vote was ‘yes’ in a “positive result”, it would require a major constitutional Bill in the United Kingdom Parliament.
   His comments were interpreted as appearing to think that a ‘no’ vote was unlikely, even though opinion polls have suggested that just 30 per cent of Scots would vote to leave the United Kingdom.

ISLE OF MAN
A new Government Unified Pension Scheme for Public Servants on the Isle of Man has been accepted by unions.
   The new terms will take effect from 1 April and will merge 15 PS schemes into a single final salary program, bringing pension arrangements under local control.
   The move was designed to make pension management simpler and more affordable.


17 January, 2012
GREECE

Minister criticises PS cut scheme

A scheme designed to place 30,000 Greek Public Servants on reduced salaries for a year has been described as “bordering on the absurd and ridiculous”.
   Greece’s Minister for Administrative Reform, Dimitris Reppas said the Government would not approve the sackings of any Public Servants despite the fact that it had pledged to reduce the number of PS staff by 150,000 over the next three years.
   “Sackings are not on our agenda, Mr Reppas said.
   However, he did admit that some kind of streamlining would be needed in the public sector.
   “We have to help citizens and the economy take off through the services that the State provides and its ability to boost growth, which is currently not happening due to bureaucracy and corruption.”
   He said he was hopeful an agreement with France that was brokered by a European Union Task Force would help Greece receive expert help in reforming its public sector.
   Mr Reppas took on his ministerial post last June and inherited the unfinished Labour Reserve Program from fellow Cabinet Minister, Yiannis Ragousis.
   The pair have disagreed frequently over the scheme, which was intended to see to the 30,000 Public Servants leaving their jobs and receiving 60 per cent of their pay for 12 months.
   Mr Reppas said the scheme would not be used again as it had been a damp squib.
   “We did not expect anything significant from a fiscal aspect and on the other hand there was the danger of public administration being unable to operate because of the loss of key personnel,” he said.


17 January, 2012
UNITED KINGDOM

Reforms to change PS mindset

Two of the United Kingdom’s most senior Public Servants have supported a new Public Service reform paper.
   Cabinet Secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood and Public Service Head, Sir Bob Kerslake, who together have now succeeded Sir Gus O’Donnell, said there had been growing pressure on the Public Service as a result of resource reductions and the demands of the Government.
   Sir Bob said the reform paper, due in a few months, would address just how well the Public Service could adapt to the changing environment.
   “The Civil Service has adapted to some very radical changes – a change in Government, a change in the financial situation, huge reductions in staffing – at the same time it is delivering very strongly,” Sir Bob said.
   However, he said there was a need for a change in the Public Service mindset.
   “How good is the Civil Service at taking a different approach to delivery of Government objectives that does not necessarily involve more regulation? “he asked.
   “It might involve reducing regulation.
   “The environment is changing fast. We have got to be a lot flatter and more flexible.”
   Sir Bob and Sir Jeremy both argued against suggestions that the Public Service was the enemy of enterprise.
   “We have shown tremendous innovation,” Sir Jeremy said.
   “ We have absorbed completely the fact this is the first Coalition Government for decades.
   “We have taken on board lots of interesting ideas on transparency, use of nudge, alternatives to regulation, and payment by results,” He said.


17 January, 2012
CANADA

PS facing cuts in Budget

Public Service Departments and pensions could be cut in the coming Canadian Federal Budget.
   Minister for Finance, Jim Flaherty said some Departments could have their staff reduced by more than 10 per cent.
   “If one is going to make any sort of intelligent assessment of Government spending in Canada, one has to look at the cost of remuneration, including benefits and pensions,” Mr Flaherty said.
   Commentators had claimed that generous public sector pensions had created an unfair retirement income gap between public and private sector employees.
   Mr Flaherty said all Government Departments had been asked to come up with two plans analysing staff cuts of between five and 10 per cent as part of a review of Government spending.
   Last year’s Federal Budget projected reductions of around five per cent in Departmental staff levels over three years, but Mr Flaherty has indicated the Government was looking for more.
   He said it was facing some difficult choices.
   “This is hard work,” he said.
   “Different Departments will have different results depending on the degree of their involvement in various types of programs and initiatives.
   “It won’t be a broad brush across Government because this results in quite serious inequities as some Departments deliver a lot of services to individuals.”
   He said some progress had been made with public sector unions on pension reform, but that the broader issue must be examined.
   “If one’s going to make any sort of intelligent assessment of Government spending in Canada, one has to look at the cost of remuneration, including benefits and pensions,” the Minister said.


17 January, 2012
NIGERIA

PS ordered back to work

The Nigerian Government has directed all Federal Public Servants to report to work and resume normal duties in the face of nationwide industrial unrest.
   Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HOS), Alhaji Isa Bello Sali said the Government had noted the inability of many officers to get to their offices due to transportation problems.
   It had taken action by demanding all Permanent Secretaries provide staff buses free of charge and urged workers to take advantage of them.
   “The plan is to latch on to the mass transport scheme recently inaugurated by President Goodluck Jonathan as part of measures to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal on Nigerians,’’ Mr Sali said.
   His report to work directive came as a nationwide strike called by labour unions continued.
   Mr Sali said security officers had been deployed to Government offices and some Agencies had opened fresh attendance registers with a view to punishing workers who failed to report for work.
   However, he attributed the low turnout of Public Servants for work to the barricades mounted by protesters, noting that security measures were being developed to ensure compliance with the directive.
   He appealed to labour unions to begin a dialogue that would ensure an amicable resolution of the dispute with the Government.


17 January, 2012
NEW ZEALAND

IT staff leaving Government service

New Zealand’s State Services Commission’s annual Human Resources Capacity Survey has found that the brain drain from Government Departments had been significant over the past year.
   The survey found that information and communications technology (ICT) roles like systems analysts, programmers and customer support officers fell by 13.5 per cent in the year to 30 June 2011 - the biggest drop of all Government employment groups.
   According to the survey there were 1,738 ICT fulltime equivalent employees at 30 June 2011, compared with 2,009 on the corresponding date a year earlier.
   It found the decreases were due mainly to cuts at Inland Revenue, Corrections, Land Information New Zealand and the Ministry of Education.
   Chief Executive of the New Zealand Computer Society, Paul Matthews said IT had been an area targeted for cost reduction.
   “I think there’s been quite a focus on reducing the internal teams and contracting out more, where possible,” Mr Matthews said.
   He said the numbers were not a major cause for concern, though he would be concerned if they continued to fall.
   “You do have to be a wee bit careful when you consolidate and save costs, that you’re not losing the people that have the institutional knowledge,” he said.
   The survey also showed that unplanned turnover of ICT staff jumped from eight per cent to 16 per cent in 2011.
   “If a Department is downsizing or has indicated that it is looking to outsource more work, then you will find that people may look to move to the contracting party or elsewhere,” Mr Matthews said.
   He said a shift to cloud computing was unlikely to be a major factor, as the Government had been slow to adopt the new technology.


17 January, 2012
UNITED KINGDOM

Schools link up for shared services

Two Local Councils in the United Kingdom have launched a shared services facility for 10 schools in their areas using cloud computing as the host.
   Stockton and Darlington Councils have completed the installation of shared finance, Human Resources and payroll transactional services, including technical IT and operational support, at the schools.
   The Councils, whose joint services venture is known as Xentrall, said the implementation process was completed in six months as part of a deal with software firm UNIT4.
   Head of Transactional Services at Xentrall, Ian Coxon, said that the schools would use enterprise resource planning software Agresso Business World, which would be hosted in the cloud using UNIT4’s shared journey solution.
   “All the schools need is broadband access and Internet Explorer, and they will be able to access a shared version of Agresso,” Mr Coxon said.
   He said that another benefit of the service was that the software accessible through the cloud was tailor-made to each school’s specific need. The service was also subscription based, with the schools paying for what they used.
   Mr Coxon said that the shared service could be used by other schools or Authorities further afield as the technology meant that geography was no long a barrier to collaboration.
   “It demonstrates that in the new economy there is appetite for innovative operating models and technologies,” he said.


17 January, 2012
BHUTAN

Staff in court to be supported

Public Servants in Bhutan are to be eligible for administrative and legal support from the Royal Civil Service Commission, if they are required to face Court action due to their work.
   The changes are among many that have arisen affecting the PS following an exercise to align the nation’s Public Service rules and regulations with its Civil Service Act.
   Under the new rules, if a Public Servant is prosecuted by the Government or a Government Agency and acquitted, the Agency will reimburse all expenses related to litigation.
   A law firm would be hired to represent the Public Servant and an Agency would provide its legal officer to represent a Public Servant in Court if he or she was prosecuted by a person or organisation not from the Government.
   The Commission has proposed that PS staff suspended on corruption charges receive 50 per cent of salary until the verdict is issued. It is currently only available for a year.
   If proved guilty, the worker would be dismissed without benefits.
   Changes have also been made to the promotion system to prevent too many PS Officers reaching the top rungs of their jobs too soon.
   From now on, Public Servants will have to wait four years for their first promotion and every five years for succeeding ones.
   Agencies can appoint people on contract in place of those who are away on long-term studies, as long as no additional cost is involved, but contracts will not be extended beyond the age of superannuation.
   All Agencies will also have to conduct staff appraisals yearly and enter the ratings into the Public Service information system within three months of the end of appraisal cycle.
   The draft rules will be online for discussion until 30 September.


17 January, 2012
BENIN

IMF hosts talks on PS reform

A conference on Public Service reform in Benin is to be co-hosted by the national Government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
   The conference will explore the best ways to help Benin design strategies that foster sustainable and inclusive growth.
   To be chaired by Prime Minister, Pascal Koupaki the conference is expected to attract participants from other countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) as well as Benin’s National Assembly, its private sector, civil society, academia, and the donor community.
   A statement put out by conference organisers said it would be a platform for the authorities to take stock of progress accomplished, share relevant regional and international experience, and consider challenges to continued Public Service reform in Benin.
   Advisor in the IMF’s African Department, Mario de Zamaróczy said the IMF was looking forward to listening to its partners in Benin.
   “The IMF has had a constructive dialogue with the Beninese authorities and the conference is an opportunity to broaden this dialogue to all those involved in the country’s civil service reform,” Mr de Zamaróczy said.
   “It offers an opportunity for all stakeholders to explore ways to improve the quality of life of Beninese citizens through Civil Service reform.”
   Benin is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation in Africa with a population of nine million, highly dependent on agriculture, with substantial employment and income arising from subsistence farming.
   The conference is to be held this week.


17 January, 2012
MALAYSIA (Sabah)

Call to put people first

Federal Public Servants in the Malaysian State of Sabah have been urged to regard the people’s needs as their priority.
   Chief Minister of Sabah, Datuk Seri Musa Aman said it was important to ensure that the target groups would derive the benefits from development projects.
   In this context, Datuk Seri Musa said, discussions and interaction with State Agencies and Authorities should be continuing.
   “We have the various committees, meetings and forums that I chair, and those chaired or represented by the State Federal Secretary and Sabah State Secretary, to facilitate development projects and produce a positive impact for the wellbeing of the people,” Datuk Seri Musa said when addressing PS staff at the Sabah Federal Government administrative complex in Likas.
   Noting that the number of Federal Public Servants in the State had reached 100,000, he said it was crucial for them to work with State Public Servants as one team to realise the Government’s efforts in bringing progress to the people.
   “The State Government acknowledges and appreciates the contribution by Federal Civil Servants in Sabah and will readily cooperate with Federal Departments and Agencies in implementing responsibilities entrusted them,” Datuk Seri Musa said.
   The Chief Minister said he was satisfied with the number of Sabahans employed in the Federal Public Service.
   “Some are already heading State Federal Departments and Agencies and this is a good development,” he said.


17 January, 2012
And From the World in Brief...
UNITED KINGDOM
The failure of many Public Servantsto negotiate better supply contracts has led to more than £31 billion ($A46 billion) being wasted by Government Departments in the past two years according to the United Kingdom’s National Audit Office.
   The NAO found the Ministry of Defence to be the worst offender, with £6 billion ($A9 billion) wasted in defective defence contracts, but there was also £10 billion ($A14.8 billion) lost through uncollected income tax and billions more squandered on flawed IT projects and transport schemes.
   The Office said the scale of the waste amounts to a third of the cuts to public sector spending required by the Government.

UNITED KINGDOM
The largest Public Service union in the United Kingdom is to call for more public sector walkouts at the peak Trades Union Congress (TUC) meeting later this week after confirming its opposition to pension changes.
   However, the call by the Public and Commercial Services union is unlikely to succeed at the TUC and could result in a breakaway group of unions taking further industrial action.
   A union source said the TUC meeting of public sector unions would update senior figures on progress in pension talks but would not be used to set new strike dates.

SCOTLAND
An experimental website has been launched by the Government of Scotland aimed at showing citizens how to better engage with Government services online.
   The DirectScot.org website follows England’s Alpha.gov.uk website launched last May.
   A statement on the website says it is a response to the continuing debate about how Government services can be delivered efficiently in the digital age.

MALAYSIA
A major Public Service union wants older Public Servants to be given the chance to remain within the Malaysian Remuneration Scheme.
   The Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) said that some Public Servants had been pressured into signing up for the Public Service New Remuneration Scheme (NRS) without having seen how it would affect their salaries.
   The union said some Public Servants were only provided with the salary increment schedule upon signing up for the NRS and later found there were problems with the salary offered.

KYRGYZSTAN
Kyrgyzstan’s Prime Minister, Omurbek Babanov has ordered staff cuts of 3,200 to the nation’s Public Service.
   Mr Babanov has also proposed a reduction of more than one third in the Government car fleet and the elimination and merging of a number of Agencies.
   Public Servants convicted of corrupt activities would be weeded out, Mr Babanov said.

RWANDA
Some Public Servants in Rwanda are to receive their first pay rise since 2006, the Ministry of Public Service and Labour has said.
   The Ministry said the salary increase was necessary because of an erosion of purchasing power.
   The increases have been scheduled for July this year but will not apply to employees in the Rwanda Revenue Authority, the Rwanda Environment Management Authority or other Agencies which are already on higher pay scales.