UNITED STATES
US President Donald Trump’s congratulatory message to the “dedicated men and women [who] strengthen our country and make a profound difference in the lives of all Americans” during Public Service Recognition Week has left a bitter taste for many workers.
They read it in conjunction with wide-ranging attacks on Government workers, with the White House proposing a freeze on across-the-board civilian pay increases for 2019; combining sick and annual leave into one category; giving managers greater flexibility over hiring and firing; and a number of changes to the retirement system.
In addition, Mr Trump has signed three Executive Orders making it easier to fire Federal employees, capping the time staff can spend on union business and putting other curbs on union power.
The Executive Orders have already met resistance.
The National Treasury Employees Union has filed a legal motion to stop two of them, while the American Federation of Government Employees has taken legal action against one order.
Even 21 members of the President’s own Republican Party have written to him expressing concerns that the orders could “undo many of the longstanding principles protected by law; undermine existing labour laws and we ask that you rescind them”.
However, Trump-appointed Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Jeff Pon (pictured) is standing firm.
He said his vision for Government human resources reform included speeding up hiring and better aligning pay and benefits with those of the private sector.
“We’ve been nibbling around the edges of Civil Service reform in the 1990s and 2000s … but I’m really looking at wholesale change,” Mr Pon said.
“I’m really making sure that our staff here at OPM have a full court press [an all-out effort] in the next six to seven months.”
Washington, DC, 16 June 2018
