NORTHERN IRELAND
PS head doubts Brexit border
The Head of Northern Ireland’s Public Service, David Sterling (pictured) has told the UK Government its plans for the land border with Ireland after the UK leaves the European Union (Brexit) won’t work.
In a leaked letter, he said the UK plan for the border failed to solve the major problems caused by Brexit.
Mr Sterling also raised concerns that the UK Government was not engaging closely enough with officials in Northern Ireland who had a good understanding of issues such as the Good Friday Agreement and North–South cooperation.
However, the head of Brexit negotiations, Oliver Robbins said UK proposals put to the EU side “remain the basis for our negotiation position”.
London, 27 April 2018
JERSEY
PS restructure announced
The Chief Executive of Jersey’s Government, Charlie Parker has announced a total restructure of the Channel Island’s Public Service.
A 45-day consultation with senior leaders ended on 19 April, and Mr Parker informed staff that he has begun the process of recruiting for the most senior leadership roles in the reformed organisation.
This could lead to a number of existing senior officers losing their jobs.
“Over the next few weeks, a number of internal candidates will be interviewed for Director-General roles for the new Departments and several new roles will also be advertised in Jersey and internationally to attract the best possible candidates,” Mr Parker said.
He said he had also initiated improvements to key areas of the Public Service, including children’s services, financial management and senior management.
St Helier, 2 May 2018
BHUTAN
PS staff join PM’s party
The Prime Minister of Bhutan, Tshering Tobgay says a number of senior Public Servants have agreed to join the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and will stand in the country’s General Election later this year.
His announcement created immediate consternation, as the PS staff, who were not named, have not resigned their positions, creating concerns about the politicisation of the Public Service.
Mr Tobgay said that simply picking candidates from the Public Service would not amount to politicisation unless the particular individual then registered as a Party member.
“Civil Servants cannot join political parties either as registered members or supporters until and unless they resign from the Civil Service,” Mr Tobgay said.
Thimphu, 28 April 2018
UNITED STATES
PS reform by November
The man in charge of reorganising the US Public Service, Jeff Pon says major changes will be ready for implementation by November.
In his first media briefing as Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Mr Pon said he was “looking at wholesale change” in areas including hiring and compensation.
He said the changes would affect a workforce of more than two million people.
“The next six to seven months are very critical for getting things out the door,” Mr Pon said.
“I’m really making sure that our staff here at OPM have a full-court press in the next six to seven months, and you’ll see a lot of things come out of here.”
At the briefing, Mr Pon responded only to questions submitted in advance and then only a few of those.
No live or follow-up questions were allowed from reporters.
Washington, DC, 1 May 2018
UNITED KINGDOM
Pay strike planned
A major UK Public Service union says it will seek authorisation for a possible Public Service strike over Government pay restrictions when it holds its annual conference later this month.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, the largest in Whitehall, with an estimated 185,108 members, said the ballot would come after the Cabinet Office rejected the PCS’s call for a 5 per cent pay increase for PS employees.
General Secretary of the PCS, Mark Serwotka said the Government had confirmed it had provided funding for only a 1 per cent rise in line with the cap that has been in place since 2012.
Other parts of the public sector have recently received higher increases, including a 6.5 per cent three-year deal for National Health Service staff, and smaller cap-busting deals for Local Government workers, police officers and prison officers.
London, 1 May 2018
NETHERLANDS
Toilet spy sentenced
A court in the Netherlands has heard that a Public Servant working for the city of Vlissingen put cameras in two women’s bathrooms in the city’s Town Hall to film the occupants, and then viewed the footage at home.
The 57-year-old man was sentenced to two months’ probation, 240 hours of community service and a fine of €4,000 (A$6,400) to be divided among the victims.
The man was caught last year when a cleaner discovered a camera in one of the bathrooms.
The Vlissingen Council fired him and reported him to the police.
The Public Prosecutor said the man should be jailed, but the Judge deemed this too harsh a measure, saying none of the images was put on the internet and the publicity surrounding the case was punishment enough.
The Hague, 27 April 2018
