SearchArchives for May 2008
27 May, 2008NEW ZEALAND
PM loses confidence in PS
New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Helen Clark has launched a stinging attack on her Public Service advisors in the wake of the controversial resignation of the head of the NZ Immigration Service, Mary Anne Thompson.
Ms Clark has ordered the NZ Auditor General to launch a thorough investigation of the fiasco which follows weeks of revelations about internal PS activities.
Ms Clark said the NZ Government’s faith in the Public Service had been “shattered” by the events and she personally had been “constantly blindsided” by the revelations coming from her Department.
She said PS bosses had fallen short of their responsibilities to keep Ministers briefed. She said NZ had a “no surprises” policy which ensured Ministers were told about issues likely to be controversial but this had not been honoured in the Thompson case.
Fallout over the revelations included a police probe into whether Ms Thompson had doctored qualifications on her CV to win senior Public Service jobs, a Department of Labour review into the Pacific division, and a State Services inquiry into the way the Labour Department handled the issues.
Ms Thompson fell foul of the bureaucracy when she was found to have helped family members get visa waivers and residency in New Zealand.
Prime Minister Clark said she was surprised to learn former State Services Commissioner Michael Wintringham had known of the doubts about Ms Thompson’s qualifications as far back as 2004.
“I’ve been put in a position ... as Prime Minister of having someone as acting head of my Department who is now the subject of a police investigation with respect to integrity issues. This just isn’t satisfactory,” Ms Clark said.
She said the Auditor-General, Kevin Brady, would get a wide brief but would set his own terms of reference.
The Public Service Association agreed with the Government decision to launch the investigation.
“We believe an independent investigation by the Auditor-General is needed because questions continue about the decision-making process at the Immigration Service, particularly in the Pacific Division,” said PSA National Secretary Brenda Pilott.
Ms Pilott said she was concerned that the investigation might “cast a shadow on the integrity of the whole Public Service”.
“That is why the PSA is setting up an ethics committee that will provide advice and guidance to our members, with the focus being on those working in the core Public Service,” she said.
“We believe the union is ideally placed to provide this assistance because our members work throughout the Public Service.”
Ms Pilott said New Zealand had a world-class Public Service that was respected internationally for its integrity.
She said an international organisation called Transparency International, conducted a global corruption survey each year and in its latest survey New Zealand, Finland and Iceland shared the top ranking as having the least corrupt Public Service out of 163 countries.
27 May, 2008
KENYA
Government names best and worst Agencies
The Government of Kenya has officially named its best and worst performing Agencies.
The Ministry of Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services was cited as the best performing in the past financial year, judged by meeting targets set in contracts signed by their respective Ministers and Permanent Secretaries.
The Ministries of Regional Development and Special Programs came second and third on the list.
Others in the top 10 included Energy, Housing, Home Affairs, Heritage, Health, Immigration and Registration of Persons and Justice and Constitutional Affairs, in that order.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was named the worst performing ministry.
President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga had good news for workers in the three best institutions. Top performers in the institutions would receive incentives for motivation.
“I wish to announce that my Government will begin to roll out an incentives system based on the results that will be released today to reward excellent performance,” President Kibaki said.
“I have further directed the Minister for Finance to authorise revenue generating public institutions to pay their performing employees on basis of a formula which has been developed by the Ministry of Finance.”
He said that all public institutions must comply with the new system to ensure equal incentives for equal performance irrespective of whether a public institution was generating revenue, regulating or giving service.
Praising civil servants for their hard work, the President said the Government did not take their service for granted and it was committed to complete harmonisation of their salaries which began in 2002. He said civil servants’ salaries increased by 127 per cent between 2003 and 2007.
Other Agencies in the bottom 10 out of 37 ministries that were evaluated were Local Government, Trade and Industry, Water, Public Service Commission, Roads and Public Works, Livestock and Fisheries, Environment and Natural Resources, Planning and National Development and State Law office.
27 May, 2008
IRELAND
Taskforce formed to modernise Irish PS
A special taskforce has been established by the Government of Ireland to develop an action plan for the modernisation of the Irish Public Service.
The move comes after a recent report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development that drew attention to the huge growth in the number of state Agencies.
The report recommended there should be greater staff mobility between the Civil Service, State agencies and local authorities.
The new taskforce, which was announced by the Prime Minister (the Taoiseach) Brian Cowen, will be chaired by Secretary General to the Government, Dermot McCarthy.
It comprises senior Public Servants as well as people from the private sector. Members of the taskforce include Mark Ryan, country managing director of Accenture; John Moloney, Group managing director of Glanbia; and Geraldine Tallon, Secretary General, Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
Mr Cowen said the taskforce would be expected to draw up a comprehensive framework for the renewal of public services, taking into account the conclusions and recommendations of the OECD report.
Commenting on the OECD report Mr Cowen said that while the OECD had outlined the strengths of the current system it also said there was an insufficient focus on delivering outcomes in line with the needs of citizens.
“The Public Sector needs continuously to review its systems, processes and procedures, to ensure that it is responsive, efficient and that it provides high quality, value for money services,” Mr Cowen said..
“In other words, citizens need to be sure that the Public Service will deliver the services it expects, when needed, where needed, as needed.’
He said the OECD’s messages were clear: “We need to put the public at the centre of our public services, and the Public Service modernisation process needs to deliver results that are clear, useful and verifiable to the user.”
Mr Cowen said his ambition was for a renewed and flexible Public Service which could continue to command the respect and confidence of Irish citizens and taxpayers.
The taskforce was expected to complete its work by the end of the summer.
27 May, 2008
CANADA
Report calls for major change to PS
A report recommending 10 major changes to the Canadian Public Service has been released following 18 months of research, analysis, and consultation.
Canada’s Public Policy Forum (PPF) has issued the report entitled Canada’s Public Service in the 21st Century - Destination: Excellence whose recommendations focus on promoting effective organisational cultures, enabling and reinforcing strong leadership and achieving modern accountability.
“We have to get more continuity, commitment and sustained leadership from people in these high-level jobs,” said Ian Green, the former Deputy Minister who led the two-year study.
The study, the latest in a series of similar reports, also called for a “summit” about the Public Service to restore the rapidly eroding trust between bureaucrats, ministers, political staffers and MPs, as well as a major review of central Agencies that have become “controllers” rather than “enablers” to help Departments serve Canadians.
It also proposed the Government loosen its commitment to the traditional Departmental structure and “experiment” with new Agencies and separate employers away from the control of the Treasury Board.
It argued that big operational Departments such as Public Works, Canada Border Services Agency, Service Canada and Correctional Services could be spun into quasi-independent Agencies with their own management boards.
the report also raised the issue of whether Departments and Agencies needed to be housed in Ottawa.
“As soon as we say that, there will be a hue and cry in Ottawa, but in a country as large as Canada and with modern day technology, does everyone having to be hugging the banks of the Ottawa River to make Government work?” said PPF president, Jodi White.
But according to the report, the key to any major cultural change was “sustained” leadership and a new brand of accountability that didn’t paralyse bureaucrats with rules and watchdogs looking over their shoulders.
The report said Deputy Ministers should be hired on fixed-term performance contracts - ideally four-year terms - like their counterparts in other countries, rather than shuffling them to new posts every couple of years. This churn has long been a sore point among MPs who had called for mandatory terms for Deputies for years.
The report argued that the Government should start with fixed-term contracts for Deputy Ministers, but should phase in similar terms down the executive ranks to Assistant Deputy Ministers, Directors-General and Directors.
The exodus of retiring baby boomers has fed an unprecedented churn of all workers within the bureaucracy, starting at the top, where nearly 60 per cent of executives spend less than a year in one job before moving on to another.
The report said the rate of churn among executives raised serious concerns about the management of the Public Service, the quality of leaders and policy advice to Ministers, and the efficiency of programs.
27 May, 2008
UNITED STATES
Pay break to lure PS retirees back to work
The US Government has been asked to remove financial penalties on retired Public Servants who heeded the call to return to work for the Government.
Under current arrangements, the salaries of returning retirees were reduced by the amount of their pensions with the possibility that some workers could be asked to work for free.
The Government has proposed allowing Agencies, on their own, to rehire federal retirees without a salary offset. Now, Agencies must ask the Office for Personnel Management (OPM) for a waiver to bring back a retiree.
While the Government has urged Agencies to step up their recruitment of young and mid-career employees, some officials were worried it would lose experienced employees because of retirements over the next decade.
Agencies expected to lose a substantial number of baby boomers in the next 10 years and if they suffered problems recruiting, many managers would like to lure back retired workers who had the experience and skills they needed.
Re-employed retirees in the workforce numbered just a few thousand, or about 0.3 per cent of the executive branch last year.
According to the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, Congress had traditionally been wary of permitting Government workers to draw “dual compensation” or to “double dip” so to prevent abuse, bills pending in the House and the Senate would limit the number of days a retiree could work for the Government each year.
NARFEA said it supported ending the salary offset with Dan Adcock, assistant legislative director for the group, telling a House of representatives panel that many retirees avoided the red tape involved in obtaining an OPM waiver by going to work for a Government contractor “where their federal annuity presents no barrier to being paid full salary at the new job”.
But the legislative director for the National Treasury Employees Union, Maureen Gilman, said the union was not aware of any serious problems with the current limitation on retirees and expressed concern that the bill “could easily be subject to abuse” because of “the lack of standards and the elimination of OPM approval”.
Ms Gilman said too many Agencies were understaffed because of inadequate funding, not because of a lack of qualified job applicants.
27 May, 2008
UNITED KINGDOM
IT upgrade foreshadowed for PS
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has thrown his weight behind improved information technology resources for the British Civil Service.
“The aim is to ensure we utilise all the innovation at our disposal to improve public services in this country and to give more power to those who use them,” Mr Brown said in a speech to Google Inc’s Zeitgeist Conference in London.
“Across Government and the Public Services we must present and distribute the information we hold in a way that enables it to be re-used by online communities, potentially reaching many millions more people and helping make Britain a country of technology pioneers.”
He announced a range of areas where he wanted to increase the use of information technology, including the use of video-imaging of crime suspects and allowing patients to book medical appointments online.
He also announced a joint initiative with Google to use British meteorological data on the Google Earth application to show the effects of climate change.
27 May, 2008
RWANDA
Commission takes over recruitment
The Rwandan Government has issued a directive to its Public Service to stop it recruiting staff directly from the labour market.
Departments and Agencies will now have to source their employees from the newly formed Public Service Commission (PSC).
“The revised recruitment process as prescribed by the 2007 Law which established the Public Service Commission will ensure the merit of such staff,” said Angélina Muganza, the Executive Secretary of PSC.
Ms Muganza stressed that the Government was committed to its reform agenda of employing competent staff.
She said the Ministry of Public Service and Labour would be in charge of designing job requirements for each post as well as setting job specifications and the Commission would be responsible for outsourcing, examining and selecting competent people for the jobs.
Ms Muganza said the level of recruitment across different sectors in the country since the Public Service reform of the past three years had reflected changes in the job market.
Some, such as private institutions, had been expanding their job opportunities, while Government institutions, especially local administrations, had cut theirs back.
Ms Muganza said that one reason for introducing new changes in the recruitment process was to make sure graduates won jobs they deserved.
She said every Government institution in need of staff for particular posts should first write to the PSC and the Commission would then search for the best candidates among a list of applicants for the listed vacancies.
27 May, 2008
INDIA
City folk turn back on PS careers
The Indian Public Service is losing its attraction for urban dwellers with the Public Service Commission reporting more and more students from rural areas trying their luck in the Civil Service examinations.
Lack of persistence and a desire to settle quickly into their life rather than wait for years to get into the Public Service were considered to be some of the reasons for the poor response from the urban dwellers.
The Indian Civil Service examination was considered to be the toughest competitive examination, next only to the French Civil Services examination.
“The major reason is that the city-based students have more exposure as far as their career options are concerned than the rural students,” said the Sub Divisional Magistrate, Korba district, Chattisgarh, R Sangeetha.
Mr Sangeetha, who hailed from the remote village of Kosuvampatti in Namakkal district, secured the 32nd rank in the 2005 Civil Services examination.
“With plenty of options on their hands, the city students are able to select a career that would suit them considering the time and money involved in it,” he said.
Once they complete their graduation, most city students attempt the exam once or twice. If they fail to make it, they immediately jump into other sectors such as Information Technology that offer more money sooner.
Denying the charge that city students lacked persistence, the senior executive of Cognizant Technology Solutions, Mohammed Aslam who appeared for the Union Public Service Commission main examinations in 2003 and 2004, said city students faced a lot of pressure from their parents to show results and not to waste the prime of their life.
“It is not as if we lack in self confidence as viewed by the rural students,” Mr Aslam said.
27 May, 2008
UGANDA
Soldiers jobs to be evaluated
The Ugandan Minister for Defence has announced that the Public Service and Department of Defence are to evaluate soldiers’ jobs and qualifications.
The Minister, Ruth Nankabirwa pointed out that the military, unlike other civil service sectors, had not been adequately assessed.
Speaking at the joint graduation ceremony of the School of Military Intelligence and the Junior Staff College in Gadhafi barracks, Jinja, Ms Nankabirwa said there was need to equate military qualifications to the conventional academic qualifications like A level and degrees.
“The science material that soldiers get exposed to could be beyond the scope of a university Bachelors degree,” she said. “Our officers and men should not be cheated.”
She advised the trainees not to think their training was second-rate compared with conventional tertiary studies, saying theirs was a strenuous, advanced academic struggle.
Brigadier Silver Kayemba, Ugandan People’s Defence Force chief of operations and training, emphasised that continuous training was the only avenue to professionalise the Army.
Brigadier Kayemba expressed concern about the small number of female graduates. Only three women graduated in the class of 97.
College commandant, Dick Olum, said the major challenges were transport limitation, few computers and limited study space.
27 May, 2008
UNITED KINGDOM
Teachers strike for more pay
Britain’s biggest teacher’s union has threatened to take more strike action in protest at Government pay ‘cuts’.
The National Union of Teachers said it could ballot members again in the autumn for further action even after Schools Secretary, Ed Balls confirmed teachers would receive a rise of 2.45 per cent this year, with 2.3 per cent for both 2009 and 2010.
But acting general secretary of NUT, Christine Blower said a 2.45 per cent pay award when inflation was running at more than 4 per cent was a “pay cut in anybody’s money”.
A one-day national strike by the union last month shut up to 5000 schools in England and Wales, affecting about 2.9 million pupils.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is facing anger over pay from workers across the Public Sector. The Public and Commercial Services Union has also decided to ballot 280,000 civil servants for industrial action in protest over pay.
20 May, 2008
NEW ZEALAND
Immigration head resigns amid scandal
The crisis engulfing the New Zealand Immigration Service has deepened with the head of the service, Mary Anne Thompson resigning in the wake of alleged impropriety and scandal.
Ms Thompson has been commended by the Public Service Association for stepping down after the State Services Commission reviewed the residency applications of some of her Kiribati family members and found they had been approved against normal Immigration Service policies.
It has been alleged that Ms Thompson helped family members from Kiribati to gain visa waivers and to successfully apply for residency against immigration policy.
The union said the public’s trust in the Public Service could have been eroded by questions over Ms Thompson’s handling of residency applications.
PSA National Secretary, Richard Wagstaff said he was concerned the questions would have lingered if Ms Thompson had remained at the Immigration Service.
“For that reason we believe she has made the right decision by resigning,” Mr Wagstaff said.
He said the matter was still under SSC investigation, but that he hoped the Commission would resolve the problem.
An earlier independent report into the matter found Ms Thompson had not sought to influence the outcome of her family’s immigration applications.
Chief Executive of the Department of Labour, Christopher Blake, said Ms Thompson’s decision to leave brought a degree of closure to the matter.
Speculation into the validity of Ms Thompson’s qualifications has also been publicised, with Police being asked to look into allegations that she did not have a doctorate from London School of Economics, as she is believed to have claimed to.
Ms Thompson’s lawyer, Helen Aikman, said the SSC was aware of the allegations from when former State Services Commissioner, Michael Wintringham was at its helm.
In a letter, Ms Aikman said the Commission appeared to have known about the allegations regarding Ms Thompson’s qualifications for around four years, but said they were not raised with Ms Thompson when she was a Public Servant.
A spokesperson for the SSC confirmed that Mr Wintringham knew of allegations, but that the information had not been passed onto new leadership.
When State Services Commissioner Mark Prebble received the information last week he sought Crown Law advice, and was directed to pass it on to police.
Mr Wintringham has declined to comment.
“There appears to be a discussion taking place now between Mary Anne Thompson's lawyer and the State Services Commission and it would be (inappropriate) and I am not going to make any comment or insert myself into that discussion,” he said.
Acting Prime Minister, Michael Cullen, said Ministers had been unaware of the questions surrounding Ms Thompson's qualifications until last week.
20 May, 2008
UNITED STATES
Sick leave abuse sparks call for reform
A report by the US Inspector General for Tax Administration has found that 27 per cent of all sick leave in the Internal Revenue Service was taken on the Tuesday following a long weekend.
In one case, an employee took 13 days off from a possible 14 over two years.
The revelation of sick leave abuse has sparked calls for sick leave to be cumulative and for staff to be able to cash it in on retirement.
Most of the Federal Public Service in the US is covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System, which does not allow them to fold unused sick leave into their pension benefits when they retire.
In contrast, workers under the old Civil Service Retirement System could take compensation for unused sick leave upon retirement.
The Inspector General's report on the IRS workforce reflected findings of a report from the Congressional Research Service that found employees under FERS were more likely to use up their sick leave as they neared retirement because of the use-it-or-lose-it rule.
The Inspector General found that around 97,000 IRS employees took more than 15 million hours of sick leave in 2005 and 2006, costing about $450 million in salaries and lost productivity.
Federal employees earn 13 days of sick leave a year and IRS employees took an average of 11 days off in 2006. There is no limit on how much sick leave an employee can carry forward into the next year and IRS employees had an average of 43 days accumulated sick leave at the end of 2006.
The report said it believed the lack of compensation for unused sick leave at retirement contributed to the higher amount of sick leave used by FERS employees.
It recommended a change to the use-it-or-lose-it rule if the change was less expensive than the current policy.
20 May, 2008
KENYA
Public Servants expected to donate to charity
Public Servants in Kenya have been invited to contribute to a fund launched recently to help resettle internal refugees.
The head of the Kenyan Public Service, Francis Muthaura has written to all Permanent Secretaries asking them to seek contributions from their staff towards the fund which hoped to raise Sh30 billion (A$500million) to help victims of the post-election violence.
The scheme was launched by President Kibaki and signed off on by the Acting Registrar, Lidya Achode.
Following Mr Mathaura’s lead, Public Servants and other accounting officers have written to all Departmental, divisional and sectional heads to request contributions from all public officers.
The letters have specified that the amount contributed should be dependent on the grade of the officer and range from Sh5,000 (A$85) for judges to Sh500 (A$8.5) for cooks, cleaners and other judiciary employees.
The exercise has been likened to the practice which was prevalent during former President Daniel arap Moi’s rule when Public Servants and employees of parastatals were made to contribute to all manner of funds.
During this time, representatives of NGOs and political activists complained about alleged forced donations by Public Servants.
The Civil Servants Union condemned the donations terming the move a breach of the Public Officer Ethics which barred officers from participating in such funds drives or using their positions to raise money.
The Union’s Ating Secretary General, Tom Odege, said the donations were introducing corruption by compassion and were breaching the law.
“Any normal human being would not ordinarily refuse to assist, but the salaries of the civil servants cannot be enough to even sustain them for a month let alone donate to a person in distress,” Mr Odege said.
The Permanent Secretary for Public Service, Titus Ndambuki said they were voluntary contributions depending on the nature of distress.
“Civil servants are being asked to assist and no deductions will be made from their salaries to make it compulsory,” Mr Ndambuki said.
“That does not therefore break the law and those who will not be able to donate are not under any obligation to pay.”
According to a circular sent to all Judiciary staff, the institution was expected to raise more than Sh3.6 million (A$60,700) towards the resettlement of those who were displaced from their homes following the violence.
The circular said the donations should be submitted to the registrar’s office starting from May 12 to May 26.
Mr Mathaura said the Government had factored Sh1 billion of the required Sh30 billion in the current financial year.
The public fund raised Sh457 million (A$7,700,000) to help families affected by post-election violence to resettle.
The post election violence left over 1,000 people dead and 350,000 displaced.
The funds drive was launched at Kenyatta International Conference Centre and was attended by Cabinet ministers, Permanent Secretaries, members of the diplomatic corps and Chief Executive Officers of various parastatals.
President Kibaki pledged a donation of Sh5 million (A$84,000)towards the resettlement kitty as his personal contribution.
The money will be used to build new houses, replace household effects and rehabilitate community utilities and institutions destroyed in the violence.
20 May, 2008
MOROCCO
600,000 take strike action
Combined industrial action by four unions of Government employees in Morocco has lead to a one-day strike in State schools and other public services to protest against soaring food prices.
The impact of the strike was mixed as other unions refrained from joining in.
The strike was seen as a test in a showdown between the Government and trade unions over a food prices crisis ahead of a general strike planned for 21 May.
The pro-Islamist Moroccan Workers National Union joined forces with the Socialist-dominated Democratic Workers Federation, leftist Moroccan Workers Union and the Democratic Workers Organisation to lead the walkout of an estimated 600,000 Public Servants.
A spokesperson for the unions said up to 95 per cent of their members took part in the strike, while a Reuters reporter said services were only partially affected.
Activities at banks, airports, ports, shops and other businesses were normal across the country.
The Moroccan Government has suspended cereal import duties and tripled the budget to around 30 billion Moroccan Dirhams (A$4.27 billion) this year to subsidise bread, petroleum products and electricity in a bid to help poor households.
The Government has planned to raise wages by 10 per cent in two stages this year, but the unions have demanded more claiming that was not enough.
The strike planned for 21 May was organised by the main Democratic Workers Confederation Union, which was not a part of the most recent walkout.
20 May, 2008
MALAYSIA
Disabled workers targeted by PS task force
The Malaysian Government has established a task force to encourage more people with disabilities to apply for work in the Malaysian Public Service.
Minister for Women, Family and Community Development, Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen said the Ministry wanted feedback on how to create a suitable working environment for the disabled.
Dr Ng said the task force would comprise Ministry, Public Service Department (PSD) and representatives of people with disabilities and was expected to help PSD achieve its aim of having at least one per cent of the Government workforce - or 10,000 workers – working to overcome their disability.
“Currently, there are 220,000 disabled persons registered with the Social Welfare Department,” Dr Ng said.
“Only 581 of them are working in the Public Service and fewer than 5,000 in the private sector.”
Chairman of the Society for the Blind Malaysia's Employment and Computer Development, Dr Wong Huey Siew, said around 50 per cent of people with disabilities left their jobs within six months.
Secretary of the Malaysian Confederation of the Disabled, K. Bathmavathi said the Ministry’s move would encourage people with disabilities to acquire higher academic qualifications.
20 May, 2008
UNITED STATES
Stress ruled out in Vets Affairs diagnosis ruling
A US Government psychologist has ordered staff at a US Department of Defence medical facility to stop diagnosing returned soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder because too many were claiming Government disability payments.
Norma Perez, who leads a PSTD program for veterans in a Texas facility wrote to her staff on 30 March recommending that they "consider a diagnosis of Adjustment Disorder" instead.
"Given that we are having more and more compensation seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out," Ms Perez wrote.
She said Veterans’ Affairs staff “really don't . . . have time to do the extensive testing that should be done to determine PTSD."
According to psychiatrist Dr Anthony Ng, adjustment disorder was a less severe reaction to stress than PTSD and usually lasted no longer than six months.
A spokeswoman for Veterans’ Affairs said returned soldiers diagnosed with PTSD could receive up to $2,527 a month in disability payments depending on the severity of the condition.
“Those found to have adjustment disorder generally are not offered such payments, though veterans can receive medical treatment for either condition,” the spokeswoman said.
Iraq war veteran John Soltz said many veterans believed the Government didn’t want to pay out the disability that came with a PTSD diagnosis, and this revelation would not allay their concerns.
The reports were described as ‘outrageous’ by activist organizations with one saying Veterans’ Affairs had been caught out calling on its employees to deliberately misdiagnose returning veterans in an effort to cut costs.
“Those who have risked their lives serving our country deserve far better," the groups said.
Veterans Affairs Secretary, James B. Peake said Ms Perez's e-mail was "inappropriate" and did not reflect VA policy.
“It has been "repudiated at the highest level of our health care organisation," Mr Peake said.
"VA's leadership will strongly remind all medical staff that trust, accuracy and transparency is paramount to maintaining our relationships with our veteran patients.”
He said Ms Perez has been ‘counseled’ and was ‘extremely apologetic.’ but would remain in her job.
Dr Ng said diagnosing PTSD often required observing a patient for weeks or months because the condition implied a long, lingering effect of stress.
"Most people exposed to trauma, in general, can get better," Dr Ng said.
"You don't want to over-diagnose people with PTSD.”
20 May, 2008
CANADA
Contributions by Public Servants recognised
The contributions Public Servants have made to the Canadian Province of British Columbia have been recognised in a permanent tribute unveiled by the Premier of the Province, Gordon Campbell.
Mr Campbell said 2008 marked the 150th anniversary and the Centenary of a merit based professional Public Service in the Province.
“More than 30,000 BC Public Service employees across the Province perform profoundly important work every day to help build a positive future for all of us and our communities,” Mr Campbell said.
“It is fitting that we demonstrate that respect and appreciation with this tribute here in the Parliament Buildings.”
Mr Campbell unveiled a framed copy of the Oath of the British Columbia Public Service, which will hang on permanent display in the rotunda of the Parliament Buildings.
He said every BC Public Service employee swore the oath when they began their career.
“As they have throughout our history, individual men and women continue to help unleash the full potential of the people and province of British Columbia by choosing a career in the BC Public Service,” Mr Campbell said.
“That contribution has never been more important as we work together to tackle some of the most pressing issues in our Province’s history.”
The Minister for the BC Public Service Agency, Ida Chong, said the tribute was unveiled in the lead up to Public Service Week which is to be held in June.
The BC Public Service is the largest corporate employer in the province, with employees working in over 200 different types of jobs in 280 communities.
This year, the BC Public Service was recognised as one of British Columbia’s Top 40 Employers.
Mr Campbell said more information on the BC Public Service was available at www.gov.bc.ca
20 May, 2008
CAMEROON
Program launched to promote PS assistance
The Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms in Cameroon has officially launched a program to ensure the national Public Service worked together, rather than individually.
The new Mutual Assistance Scheme of the Staff of the Ministry (MUFOPRA) was unveiled to a general meeting of Ministry staff last week.
Secretary General of MPS&AR, Philip Ngolle Ngwesse said the scheme followed an absence of solidarity among the personnel and indifference towards one another in times of problems.
He said it represented a new page in the history of the Ministry and brought together representatives from all 10 Provinces of the country.
Mr Ngwesse said it was necessary to create a framework to ensure growth and reinforcement of relations between the personnel in the Ministerial Department.
He said the idea of a mutual assistance scheme became effective in 2006 after being developed and worked on for several years.
During the general meeting last week, the election of an executive bureau to pilot the scheme was on the top of the agenda.
The assembly elected the Minister of Public Service and Administrative Reforms, Emmanuel Bonde, as President of the Board of Directors and Yves Tckagadik Njilla as President of MUFOPRA.
The newly elected bureau was officially installed by Mr Bonde.
FCFA1,395,000 (A$3,473.55) was collected to support the scheme.
Mr Bonde said the mutual assistance scheme was a mark of solidarity and fraternity among personnel and that the Bureau was made up of experienced technicians who would be able to meet the task ahead of them.
20 May, 2008
SIERRA LEONE
PS Ministers meet in Africa
The fourth conference of Public Service Ministers from the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) has met in Sierra Leone.
Exploring the topic Integrating Employment and Decent Work Agenda in Governance Delivery, the conference was aimed at enthroning the values of professional ethics in the Public Service and ensuring that the charter for public service in Africa regarding fundamental principles and codes of conduct was adhered to.
Acting Director of the Department of Humanitarian and Social Affairs, Henrietta Didigu, commended the Government of Sierra Leone for hosting the conference.
Ms Didigu said it was a clear manifestation of the prevailing peace in the country.
She said the conference was organised to raise awareness, encourage compliance and facilitate implementation of the provisions of the Charter of Public Service in Africa by each member State and their Public Service.
Ms Didigu said the conference provided a forum for sharing experiences and evolving measures to address important challenges.
The Minister for Presidential and Public Affairs, Alhaji Alpha Kanu, said the issue of employment creation, work agenda, good governance and public service delivery underpinned the stability, progress and unity of the State.
Mr Alpha Kanu said insecurity resulting from a lack of gainful employment was a common concern for all social groups and it was important for States to provide jobs and a secure and comfortable environment.
The conference was held on 9 May in Freetown and included contributions from other International Organisations including the International Labour Organisation, the United Nations Development Program and the Commonwealth of Nations.
20 May, 2008
MALAYSIA
Indians unhappy at PS scholarship quota
The Malaysian Indian Congress has expressed its dissatisfaction at the low numbers of Indian students being chosen for Public Service Department overseas scholarships despite meeting the required educational benchmarks.
President of the MIC, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said he hoped the Government would increase the number, as only 34 Indian students had been successful in their application and another 46 students with at least 10 A1 results had failed.
Samy Vellu said the party received 194 appeals with two from students who had secured 12 A1s in their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations, three with 11 A1s and 41 students with 10 A1s.
“I will request the MIC representative in the Cabinet (Human Resource Minister Datuk Dr. S. Subramanianm) to bring up the appeal cases in the next Cabinet meeting,” Samy Vellu said.
He said he had also discussed the matter with the Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Sidek Hassan and would follow up with him soon on the matter.
“I hope the Government will consider the appeals by the students, especially those with excellent grades,” he said, adding that some of the parents of the students were from poor background.
He suggested that the PSD set a minimum requirement similar to that for the matriculation courses in selected universities and Form Six in fully-aided schools where PSD scholarships would be offered to all students who scored nine As in their SPM.
13 May, 2008
UNITED STATES
Call to overhaul PS recruitment
A call has been made to overhaul recruitment processes for employees of the United States Government with two influential Senators saying the system was broken and needed to be fixed.
Senator Daniel Akaka, Chairman of the Sub-Committee that oversaw the Federal Workforce, and Senator George Voinovich said the system was in a crisis and applicants for Government jobs had long complained about Federal hiring procedures requiring too much paperwork and taking too long.
They said around a third of Federal employees would be eligible to retire by 2012, throwing hiring frustrations into the spotlight on Capitol Hill as some occupations, such as border protection, air traffic control and administrative law judges, were vulnerable to large-scale turnover.
Senators Akaka and Voinovich raised their concerns at a hearing timed to coincide with Public Service Recognition Week, held each year in early May.
The Senators said bringing the next generation of Federal employees on board could be difficult because private corporations were often more aggressive in recruiting and many young Americans did not know how to pursue Federal employment or were not interested in it.
Senator Akaka said he was worried high-quality applicants may give up on the Government.
“Agencies need to adapt, just as the private sector has, to the culture of the next generation of Federal workers," he said.
Senator Voinovich said he had looked at three advertisements for the same job, and the two private sector requirements were extremely straightforward compared to the requirements for the Federal job.
The two senators suggested asking applicants to submit résumés and cover letters might be one way to change the initial round of the hiring process.
Acting Director for Policy and Evaluation at the Merit Systems Protection Board, John Crum, said recent surveys showed many people had to wait five months to be hired, which was too long to expect a high-quality applicant to wait.
Mr Crum said Agencies needed to study how to make hiring decisions.
A deputy associate at the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees Federal hiring policies, Angela Bailey, said Federal hiring had become cumbersome.
Ms Bailey said the OPM had tried to speed up federal hiring in the past, urging agencies to take advantage of recent laws that encouraged quick hiring decisions and permitted the use of bonuses to recruit and retain employees.
She said the OPM and an interagency team of personnel chiefs were working on new initiatives, including a pilot project involving four Agencies.
She said the OPM would urge Agencies to hire applicants within 80 days by September, and would ask them to measure and report their successes by December 2009.
She said the OPM was working to streamline job announcements for some entry-level positions.
Senator Voinovich said the subcommittee wanted to monitor the OPM's efforts on hiring, in part to ensure the work was done, and asked for the plan in writing.
13 May, 2008
UNITED KINGDOM
New service delivery model explored
A new model for Public Service delivery that promised improved services and greater user satisfaction has been explored by the UK’s House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee.
The PASC has published the first Parliamentary assessment of the idea of “user involvement” in public services which it said was a potentially new model for public service delivery.
The Committee said the idea of “user involvement” covered simple consultation with service users at one end of the spectrum through to “user directed” or “user driven” services at the other.
“User driven services are those where people actually have some kind of managerial, or more often financial, control of service delivery (such as individual budgets in health and social care), or even participate in service provision themselves,” the Committee said.
It found that consultation served an important function in gathering people’s views about the services they were getting but noted that was no guarantee that services would change as a result.
The Committee concluded that user involvement was more likely to work where the outcomes directly affected people’s lives with one successful example being the experience of Tenant Management Organisations where tenants collectively managed services such as rent and service charge collection, cleaning of communal areas and repair and maintenance work. Studies had shown that TMOs performed better on those counts than most local authorities.
Committee Chair, Tony Wright MP said involving people in public services was an important and innovative idea with huge potential.
“Genuinely empowering service users - as the Government says it wants to do - would fundamentally change the way many of our public services are currently provided,” Mr Wright said.
“The reason we should do it is because in the right circumstances, user involvement could significantly improve services and people’s experience of them.”
He said however more robust evidence was needed about the effects of stronger user involvement.
“We’ve heard a lot of claims about user-driven public services, including that they strengthen citizenship and improve public services,” he said. “There is some evidence that user-oriented services do result in higher satisfaction and better outcomes.
“The question is still about cost-effectiveness, and how best to make ‘personalisation’ of public services work.”
He said it was early days for the ideas and monitoring and evaluation was needed.
13 May, 2008
SOUTH AFRICA
Private companies to counter absenteeism
The South African Government has engaged private companies to investigate rampant absenteeism in the SA Public Service.
In a bid to counter an epidemic of PS absenteeism, the Minister for Public Service and Administration, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi has engaged a number of occupational health experts to investigate chronic cases.
Ms Fraser-Moleketi’s Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) adopted a Policy and Procedure on Incapacity Leave and Ill-health Retirement (Pilir), back in 2006, which provided for the appointment of Health Risk Managers (HRM) to assess and provide advice to the employer in respect of an employee's application for incapacity leave and ill-health retirement within specified timeframes.
The Director of General Benefits at DPSA, Christa Brink, said sick employees could apply for one of three Pilir application types.
“Employees can apply for the short temporary incapacity leave of a period less than 30 days, the long incapacity leave of a period of 30 days and longer, and ill-health retirement,” Ms Brink said.
She said the assessments would be conducted by occupational nurses, therapists and doctors but did not involve a physical examination of the applicant.
She said it was limited to scrutiny of the available medical information including sick leave certificates by a medical practitioner, additional medical reports supplied by the employee, test results and the employee's sick leave history.
Lewis Rabkin from DPSA said employees had been eligible for 36 working days normal sick leave spread over three years, and could apply for temporary incapacity leave when they had run out of normal sick leave.
Mr Rabkin said temporary incapacity leave was granted at the discretion of the employer and was subject to consideration of medical, social-economic and occupational aspects.
He said based on the findings of the assessment, the HRM would compile an assessment report to advise the employer on the management of the case within 12 days of the application, but the final decision rested with the employer.
Ms Brink said the DPSA had appointed five HRMs through a tender process.
“Each provincial administration has a health risk manager, whilst national Departments collectively share one health risk manager,” she said.
Mr Rabkin said the mission of Pilir, in conjunction with the HRM, was to “prevent the abuse of sick leave” by managing incapacity or ill-health as far as possible.
13 May, 2008
MALAYSIA
PS perks to boost morale
The Malaysian Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has announced a range of new working conditions he hoped would boost morale among the nation’s Public Servants.
Among the new deal is an increase in the mandatory retirement age from 56 to 58 beginning 1 July with PS pensions to be based on a maximum of 30 years service, instead of 25, and the parents of Public Servants who die in office are to receive a lump sum gratuity payment with the next of kin receiving the employee's full pension rather than a pro-rated amount.
The Prime Minister said the increased retirement age would not reduce the opportunities for younger staff.
“It is important that the new generation of civil servants do not feel that their opportunities for career advancement would be constricted as it is the opposite,” Mr Badawi said.
Reports said the move came amid rising costs and demands for a minimum wage.
Public Service union head, Omar Osman, welcomed the new conditions saying the Public Service had been championing those issues for the past 15 years.
“This is what we have been fighting for,” Mr Osman said.
Mr Badawi, who has criticised the PS for slow service delivery and the creation of fiefdoms within the administration in the last few months, has now urged Public Servant to show a strong sense of urgency in implementing decisions.
The country's top union chief last week called for monthly pay of at least 1,200 ringgit ($A400) to help workers cope with soaring food and fuel prices.
Malaysian Trades Union Congress President, Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud, and unionists protested outside Parliament to pressure the Government into implementing the plan but the Prime Minister would not be drawn on the issue of a minimum wage, citing fears of inflation.
Director-General of the Public Service Department, Tan Sri Ismail Adam, said although the mandatory retirement age had been extended, it was not automatic.
“Civil Servants have to individually agree that they want to continue serving until 58,” Mr Adam said.
13 May, 2008
CANADA
Study shows retirements tripled
Retirements from the Canadian Public Service have tripled since 2000 according to a new study.
The study entitled Federal Public Service Retirements: Trends in the new millennium examined retirements since 2000 among permanent employees who occupied jobs subject to the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA). These included employees of Departments and Agencies such as the Canada Revenue Agency and Crown corporations such as Canada Post, and members of the Canadian Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
In the year ending March 2007 the number of permanent Public Servants covered by the PSEA taking retirement amounted to almost three times the number at the start of the millennium.
The study analysed data on retirements, retirement eligibility and pensionable years accumulated, for both men and women and showed that retirements had increased more quickly in the Public Service than in the labour force as a whole.
It claimed that one of the reasons was that permanent Federal Public Servants covered by the PSEA were 5.3 years older on average than workers in the general labour force, and tended to retire 3.2 years earlier.
It found that in early 2007, about 8 per cent of the PS workforce could retire immediately which was double the number of 4 per cent only six years earlier. One-quarter of the existing PS workforce was eligible to retire within the next five years.
It also found that not all public servants who were eligible retired immediately. About 44 per cent put off retirement by about four years on average.
Baby boomers were identified as the driving force behind the retirements, making up two-thirds of the workforce and two-thirds of retirements.
Although men and women retired at about the same age on average, men built up more years of pensionable service than women, however, the gap in years of pensionable service between men and women had narrowed from 7.2 years to 3.4 years since 2000.
The study also found that the proportion of women retirees had increased from 40 per cent in 2000/2001 to 47 per cent in 2006/2007. It said women tended to retire after longer careers than in the past.
13 May, 2008
UNITED STATES
Public Servants helped in the home market
A non-profit organisation in Lee County, Florida, has been helping Public Servants purchase homes by making use of the large number of foreclosures in the region.
The Lee County Clerk said the County had handled more than 2,400 foreclosures in April, which was three times the amount of last year.
Founder of the non-profit organisation Herocare which had the PS at heart, Lane Houk, said the group was also using the situation to help others.
“We looked for a way to take all the foreclosures that are happening and utilise it as a way to provide affordable or attainable housing for a lot of our area workforce,” Mr Houk said.
He said they worked with all Public Servants who wanted to purchase a house.
He said a new partnership with Foreclosure Tours R Us meant clients could ride on the foreclosure bus to look at homes for free.
He said Public Servants were able to see new homes only available to them and would receive specialised financing programs.
“It's not just they get a new home, but they're happy,” Mr Houk said. “And now you know we're going to keep them here.”
Doug Tracy, a teacher who had rented in Lee County for six years said he owed his first house purchase to Herocare.
“I don't have to pay rent anymore,” Mr Tracy said.
“That's the greatest feeling - that you don't have to give money to someone else,” he said.
13 May, 2008
SOUTH AFRICA
PS failing to reach employment targets
The South African Public Service was failing to achieve its goals of 50 per cent women in senior management positions and the lack of breastfeeding facilities in the workplace was a contributing factor.
According to Minister of Public Services and Administration, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, only 33 percent of senior management posts in Government were occupied by women.
"We acknowledge that there are other environmental factors that probably impede a number of women to serve at that level,” Ms Fraser-Moleketi said.
"We don't necessarily have conducive breastfeeding facilities for women in the workplace. That's an environmental factor among others, where women of child-bearing age might feel as if they are not quite ready to take on senior responsibilities because of implications on family life.
She said there were other factors which could be sorted out to improve the situation through improved policies and regulatory frameworks.
She was still convinced however that the 50 percent target would be met by March next year.
"I do believe we will be able to meet the 50 percent target,” Ms Fraser-Moleketi said. “We have been doing very extensive work.
“If you look at a cabinet decision that was taken last year - there was a very clear decision (that) this should be included in the performance contracts of Directors-General that they look at increasing the number of women in senior management positions."
She said the number of women in senior positions had grown from 8 per cent in 1995 to 33 per cent in 2007.
In similar fashion, the Government also recorded poorer results in the employment of people with disabilities, having failed to achieve its target of 2 per cent employment.
Ms Fraser-Moleketi said people with disabilities constituted less than 0.2 percent of the employees of the Public Service but in 2002 comprised 0.11 per cent, increasing marginally between 2002 and 2007.
She said the figure currently stood at 0.17 per cent but at the rate the Government employed people with disabilities, and appeared the target of 2 per cent would not be met by March 2010.
Ms Fraser-Moleketi also noted the Public Service was having difficulty retaining skilled employees beyond the initial five years of service.
"The evidence seems to indicate that within the last 10 years, people have used the Public Service to obtain experience and then leave for other sectors,” she said.
13 May, 2008
KENYA
Payrise for junior staff
Kenyan Public Servants in lower classifications are to receive a pay rise in July, just two months after President Kibaki refused an increase in the minimum wage for workers in the private sector.
Under pressure from the recently revived Kenya Union of Civil Servants (KUCS), the Government has earmarked Sh3.5 billion ($A60 million) in next month’s budget for the pay review.
Secretary General of KUCS, Tom Odege, said the amount would not satisfy the demands of the workers’ umbrella body, which wanted a backlog of payments promised in 2006 to be cleared.
“We have a meeting next week with Government officials where we will demand a 29 per cent rise,” Mr Odege said.
“The category of workers to benefit is also not negotiable.”
Minister for the Public Service, Dalmas Otieno, said the increments would take effect from 1 July as part of salary reviews in the next financial year.
Negotiations with KUCS that had been ongoing since 2003, settled on a 45 per cent pay increase for unionisable employees in the civil service, to be implemented in three phases.
A 16 per cent pay increase was implemented in the 2006/07 financial year, with the remaining 29 per cent scheduled to be paid out to more than 67,000 members in the current financial year, but that has yet to be effected.
The union had been pushing for better job security, responsibility and remuneration in the lower cadres of the Public Service.
Public Relations Officer for the Ministry, Daniel Ng’ondu, said the salary reviews were aimed at harmonising salaries for all Public Servants to be competitive with those of the private sector. Mr Ng’ondu said the reform agenda was specifically targeted at junior level employees and senior management was unlikely to be affected.
He said attempts were ongoing to enhance efficiency in the civil service.
“Appointments of top officials are the prerogative of the President but selected individuals undergo a thorough scrutiny,” Mr Ng’ondu said.
The Director of Kenya Institute of Public Policy and Research Analysis, Moses Ikiara, said if no aggressive recruitment or better remuneration packages were provided a succession crisis would result.
In the early 1990s the Government froze all Civil Service employment as the IMF and World Bank had piled pressure on the State to control its public expenditure budget.
This employment embargo has since been lifted to enable the Government to recruit the people it needed to drive its development programs.
In an attempt to professionalise the Civil Service, the Public Service Commission has been advertising vacant positions, aimed at attracting private sector personnel.
A 2006 re-organisation of top cadre Government jobs saw the injection of fresh blood into the Service as most professionals crossed over from the private sector into Government as Permanent Secretaries.
A reform strategy entitled the Succession Management Strategy was being developed by the Service to ensure a clear succession plan, following the employment embargo
The Public Service Commission allowed extension of contracts beyond the minimum mandatory retirement age of 55 in order to maintain specialised skills and experience from retired workforce.
13 May, 2008
UGANDA
New files and records centre on cards
The Ugandan Public Service is looking for consultants to supervise the building of a new national records centre and archives complex.
The World Bank funded project will help the country manage records relating to its Public Service and pension obligations.
Experts said the Centre was long overdue considering the importance of the data collected and the fact that the public service ministry had been overcrowded with files, which seem out of order in its limited Wandegeya offices.
As a result, many former Public Servants had been forced to go to the ministry’s head office to try to get paid their long overdue pensions and found the place totally inadequate for the job.
Offices were lined with unkempt files, making one wonder how anybody could trace any one file and how they are kept from falling to pieces. Many of the S pensioners came to the conclusion that their pensions were delayed because of inefficiency in the records section
The deadline for expressions of interest in building the new records centre is this month and the client is the Public Service Performance Enhancement of the ministry.
13 May, 2008
UNITED STATES
PS appeals to young Americans
Up to 70 per cent of Americans between 18 and 29 believed a job in the Public Service would be very or fairly appealing with 53 per cent of those over 30 agreeing.
Both groups said the main attractions for a PS job were the opportunities for advancement, flexible working hours and the chance to telecommute.
Designed by the Council for non-profit, non-partisan, Excellence in Government group, the poll was conducted by Gallup to celebrate Public Service Recognition Week.
The joint venture attracted responses from 895 participants via an online survey and revealed that 60 per cent of those under 30 had never been asked to consider a job in the Government.
This was not unusual since in the US, the marketing of federal jobs doesn’t include outside advertising since 80 per cent of new hires come from inside the Government. But according to the study the Federal Government - the US’s largest employer - was starting to come around.
During Public Service Recognition Week Federal agencies set up booths n the National Mall in Washington to showcase their programs and attract new workers.
One agency was the Inland Revenue Service whose exhibit showcased the Agency's tax statistics website, complete with live tech support, and attempts to garner interest in the 100,000-person strong organisation.
The General Services Administration (GSA) also set up a booth to promote its e-commerce portal for repossessed and surplus Government property called GovSales. Other Agencies to promote their programs and recruitment efforts included the US Customs and Border Protection, Department of Transportation, Department of Veterans Affairs Career Transition Service, Department of Agriculture distance learning programs, The National Archives, and many more.
The Council for Excellence in Government poll showed that 33 per cent of survey respondents under 30 would consider a career in public service if asked by their parents to join the PS.
Likewise, 29 per cent of respondents under 30 said they would give a great deal of consideration to a Public Service career if asked to do so by the next President.
Among the preferred jobs, more respondents indicated a preference for being a Secret Service Agent for a Presidential candidate (57%) than a security guard for a rock star (43%); a public relations representative from the State Department (54%) than a public relations representative from Toyota (46%); and Director of the National Institutes of Health (54%) than the Director of the Mayo Clinic (46%).
In two cases private sector employment was preferred.
Participants would rather be the President of a major university (55%) than the Secretary of the US Department of Education (45%), and would take a job as a graphic designer for Hallmark (55%) over a post as a stamp designer with the US Postal Service (45%).
6 May, 2008
IRELAND
Weak economy sparks PS reforms
Incoming Prime Minister (Taoiseach) in the Irish Government, Brian Cowen, is to reform the Irish Public Service in an effort to counter the worsening state of the economy and public finances and ensure better value for taxpayers’ money.
Prior to being elected Taoiseach Mr Cowen was Minister for Finance and held a number of meetings with senior Cabinet colleagues, Government officials and experts to decide on the reforms.
After the nomination of his new Cabinet, Mr Cowen is expected to underline the challenges facing the economy and the need to improve services in key areas such as health.
A group consisting of senior Public Service members and three senior representatives from outside the Service is to be set up to drive the implementation of key measures recommended in a recent Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development report on the Public Sector.
Mr Cowen is expected to respond to declining tax revenues by keeping current spending within budget and to consider the long term challenges of balancing the demands of economic growth and meeting Ireland’s commitments to cut carbon emissions.
He will emphasise his determination to maintain the current level of state investment spending under the National Development Program.
Mr Cowen came to power as the Government had been growing increasingly concerned about the decline in the economy and growing evidence it had slipped into a recession.
The Central Statistics Office said unemployment was at a ten-year high, and recently published figures showed a tax shortfall of more than €730 million (AUD1.230 billion) so far in 2008.
6 May, 2008
CANADA
Payrise call for Blackberry use
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) has lodged a claim for extra pay for Public Service staff who use their blackberries outside working hours.
Studies into the area of Blackberry usage have shown that people who use Blackberries work more hours than those who don’t as they are often checking and responding to work emails after hours.
Regional Vice-President of the PSAC, Ed Cashman, said they had old clauses in their collective agreement that covered standby pay, but the clauses needed to be updated.
Mr Cashman said BlackBerries had changed the definition of work and being available after-hours.
"If you have a BlackBerry, you are essentially available 24 hours, seven days per week,'' he said.
"If you want that degree of availability, you have to pay people for it.''
The Government has responded to the Union demand by agreeing to look into the issue, but analysts warn the workers might get more than they bargained for.
They said if companies were to start paying workers extra for BlackBerry usage they would make after hours use mandatory rather than discretionary.
6 May, 2008
NAMIBIA
Call to review Public Service Act
Namibia’s Deputy Minister for Finance, Tjekero Tweya has called for an urgent review of the country’s Public Service Act.
Mr Tweya said the Act was outdated and to did not encourage effectiveness and efficiency.
Speaking in the National Assembly, Mr Tweya said he supported the call from the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission to review the Act.
He said under the current Act, disciplinary cases took a substantial amount of time to be resolved, which resulted in low numbers of staff and positions that could not be filled.
Mr Tweya said this led to inexperienced, demoralised and overworked staff with low productivity.
He raised concern over the rules of the Public Service Commission that addressed productivity and accountability, as staff members who committed fraud and theft were often on full-pay suspensions.
Mr Tweya said he hoped the review would be done in the near future to emulate the Government's policy of efficacy and productivity.
Mr Tweya said N$800 million (A$117 million) has been allocated for the Medical Aid Scheme Program which catered for 164,770 of which 71,285 are members, 85,732 dependants, 4,873 pensioners and 2,689 regional council members and staff.
He said N$23 million would be allocated to the administrator of the Program to ensure it was conducted within the framework of the Public Service Act.
Mr Tweya told Parliament that Cabinet had approved the establishment of a coordinating committee to help the Ministry of Finance manage the scheme.
He said the Committee would ensure the rules and regulations of the scheme were followed and would concentrate on revising benefits and contributions to structure and governance issues.
Mr Tweya said the Ministry was reviewing a new system of member registration and card issuing.
6 May, 2008
UNITED STATES
Super fund in sign-up call
The US superannuation fund for Public Servants, the Thrift Savings Plan, has called for all new Federal employees to be automatically enrolled in the fund when they join the PS, to cut down on the number who never sign up.
Executive Director of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, Gregory Long, said employees who did not sign up for the TSP plan which offered investment choices in stocks, bonds and Treasury securities, were less likely to be financially self-sufficient in retirement than those who did.
The Board has proposed that legislation be passed to permit the automatic enrolment of new employees, with 3 per cent of their basic pay deducted for investment in the savings program.
Under the legislation, the enrolment would not be binding should the employee not wish to take part.
Employees would be given a 90-day grace period to withdraw funds and avoid a tax penalty, and would be able to change the amount they contributed.
Mr Long said automatic enrolment would encourage people to save for retirement.
Mr Long and the President of the National Federation of Federal Employees and Vice Chairman of the Employee Thrift Advisory Council, Richard Brown, urged a House subcommittee to approve the proposal.
Mr Brown said under the current arrangement, too many employees were missing out on money that Agencies were required to distribute.
He said if Civil Service and Postal employees signed up for the TSP, they qualified to receive matching contributions from their Agencies (dollar for dollar on the first 3 percent of basic pay and 50 cents on the dollar for the next 2 percent).
Mr Brown said the law also provided for an agency automatic contribution of 1 percent of basic pay for workers covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).
He said these employees were entitled to an Agency automatic contribution (1 percent of basic pay) regardless of whether they contributed to the TSP or not.
About 278,000 FERS employees were not making payroll contributions according to data collected at the end of March, while about 1.67 million were making contributions that were matched by the Agency.
Mr Long said a TSP employee survey in 2006 showed 20 per cent of employees could not afford to divert part of their salary into long-term retirement savings; 20 per cent saved for retirement in other ways; 4.8 per cent were unsure how to sign up for TSP and 3.2 per cent said TSP was too difficult to understand.
Mr Long said the TSP was trying to reach out to those who do not contribute by sending letters to employees who received the one per cent agency match required by law but who had not signed up for payroll deductions.
He said the proposal could generate a significant cost as pretax contributions lowered employees’ taxable income.
“I hope that a way can be found to overcome that obstacle so that more employees will make full use of the TSP in order to be better prepared for their retirement,” Mr Long said.
6 May, 2008
FIJI
Lessons learned in Singapore
Fiji’s Public Service Commission is to learn some lessons from Singapore and adopt new policies that would bring the two Public Services into line.
After returning from a visit to Singapore, the Chairman of the PSC, Rishi Ram said Singapore had a population of more than 4 million yet the size of its civil service was much smaller than Fiji's, which had a population of just 1 million.
According to Mr Ram, Fiji’s Interim Prime Minister, Commodore Frank Bainimarama and the Interim Attorney General, Aiyaz Saiyed Khaiyum had toured Singapore with him and met with Singaporean Civil Service authorities.
6 May, 2008
IRELAND
FOI laws fail in Senate
The Irish Senate (Seanad) has rejected a change to Freedom of Information laws that would have made the system less expensive and included the Irish Police force, the Garda Síochána.
The Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2008 was brought forward by the Opposition parties and debated for nearly two hours before being voted down.
According to Senator Alex White, had the Bill been passed, it would have helped redeem the FOI Act from amendments made by the Government in 2003.
“Those amendments added fees of between €10 and €150 to FOI requests which has resulted in a dramatic fall in the number of requests received, from a peak of almost 18,500 in 2003 to just over 10,500 in 2007,” Senator White said.
He said out of the 26 member countries in the Council of Europe, Ireland was the only one that did not include its police force in FOI.
Senator White said it was not just the Opposition who wanted the FOI Act reviewed.
He said Information Commissioner, Emily O’Reilly and a member of the Garda Ombudsman Commission, Conor Brady, also wanted the police force to be included.
In a speech to the Seanad he argued that the introduction of the fees in 2003 was aimed toward deterring people from making FOI applications.
“The presumption in any democratic society, especially a modern democracy such as ours, should be to make the information available, accept the burden and live with the cost to the State,” Senator White said.
He said under the current Act each individual had to make a case to obtain particular information, rather than the information being freely available which reasonable and rational exceptions.
“I represent something of an unreconstructed approach to freedom of information, namely, that the presumption should be precisely that - freedom of information,” Senator White said.
He said although the Bill had been voted against, he was interested in pursuing a review of the FOI Act.
6 May, 2008
FRANCE
PS Policies spark union action
Two Public Service Unions are planning industrial action as a protest against Government policies that cut public services, reduce the number of Public Service workers and hand over services to the private sector.
The General Confederation of Labor Union (CGT) is planning a week of strikes and demonstrations while the General Confederation of Labor - Workers' Force (FO) is to focus on one day.
The Unions are upset by the Government’s policies on the public services, the so-called RGPP - Révision Générale des Politiques Publiques (General revisions of policies on the public sector).
The FO has pointed out that inflation in France has reached 0.9% this year while Public Sector pay had increased by only 0.5%.
The French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT) said prospects for social dialogue appeared bleak.
The Minister for the Public Service, Hervé Morin, rejected the call for industrial action and said there was nothing to discuss in terms of how the RGPP plan would be implemented.
6 May, 2008
CANADA
Mounties found wanting in PS audit
Canada’s Public Service Commission has taken the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to task for not effectively managing its Public Service staffing activities in accordance with the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA).
An audit of the RCMP by the Commission found the Mounties’ workforce was made up of Police officers and civilian employees but the Force was unable to show why it hired staff under one Act and not the other.
The audit found the RCMP did not provide objective criteria for determining how they hired civilians.
The issue is expected to be addressed within the next year by a Change Management Team and RCMP Reform Implementation Council.
President of the Commission, Maria Barrados said the RCMP must pay attention to the staffing of its Public Service employees.
“We have assigned a special advisor as the PSC representative to provide advice and support to the RCMP,” Ms Barrados said.
She said the audit found that the RCMP staffing management framework for Public Service appointments and appointment processes was not implemented as designed.
She said the RCMP did not comply with the requirements of the PSEA, related policies or appointment values.
She said 86 per cent of acting, non-competitive and non-advertised appointments were audited and 30 per cent found not to comply.
According to the audit, which covered from the period April 2005 to December 2007 and looked at 204 appointments, about 19 per cent of the total RCMP workforce was employed under the PSEA.
The RCMP accepted the findings and said it was committed to developing a plan to address the audit recommendations.
In a new Appointment Delegation and Accountability Instrument signed with the RCMP Commissioner, the Commission imposed conditions on the delegation of staffing authorities.
It said the conditions would remain in effect until it was satisfied with the integrity of the RCMP’s staffing activities under the PSEA.
6 May, 2008
UNITED STATES
PS recognised in celebration week
The United States is celebrating Public Service Recognition Week, an annual celebration that honours the contributions of Federal, State and Local Government employees to the nation.
President and Chief Executive of the Council for Excellence in Government which sponsored the celebrations, Patricia McGinnis, said the week was a great opportunity to celebrate Public Service as well as for people to learn about what was going on in the Federal Government.
Ms McGinnis said the celebrations would include a naturalisation ceremony for 25 new citizens, including several military personnel.
Around 75 exhibits sponsored by Federal Agencies would be on display between the National Gallery of Art and the National Air and Space Museum to let visitors see what's new in biofuels, check out a crime-scene investigation lab and write messages of support to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Events would include a performance by the Air Force's Max Impact rock band; a Job Corps showcase and competition; and ‘FedPitch’, in which contestants make a two-minute speech on how to improve the Government.
The opening ceremonies would include speeches by the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on the Federal workforce, Danny Davis; the Director of Administration and Management at the Defence Department, Michael Donley; and Ms McGinnis.
“It will be a great excursion on the Mall for kids and families from around the country," Ms McGinnis said.
6 May, 2008
UNITED KINGDOM
Attenbrough slams BBC programming
Award-winning film-maker and former Controller of BBC2, Sir David Attenbrough, has criticised the programming line-up at the BBC, describing a lack of serious programs as a “scandal.”
In a speech on the future role for Public Service Broadcasting in London, Sir David discussed the proliferation of fashionable programs he claimed were clogging up the network.
He questioned the need to have so many lifestyle shows, saying the BBC sometimes became “intoxicated” by a program genre.
"Do we really require so many gardening programs, makeover programs or celebrity chefs?” Sir David said.
“Public Service Broadcasting, watched by a healthy number of viewers, with programs financed in proportion to their intrinsic needs and not the size of the audience, can only effectively operate as a network,” Sir David said.
He said he liked to think the BBC was a network which aimed to cater for the broadest possible range of interests, from most to least popular and measured success by its audience size and the range of its schedule.
“But I have to say that there are moments when I wonder.
"There are times when both BBC1 and BBC2, intoxicated by the sudden popularity of a program genre, have allowed that genre to proliferate and run rampant through the schedules, with the result that other kinds of programs are not placed - simply because of lack of space.
“Is it not a scandal in this day and age, that there seems to be no place for continuing series of programs about science or serious music or thoughtful in depth interviews with people other than politicians?”