An Bord Snip - Public Sector reform

[DCon]

From the Indo: TDs 'cut and run' as 3,000 jobs a week lost - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie


The Expenditure Review Committee has examined the current expenditure programmes in each department and has made recommendations for "reducing public sector numbers".

It has also made recommendations on the "re-allocation of staffing or expenditure resources between public service organisations, as well as further rationalisation of State agencies".

It is expected the report will be published before the second Lisbon referendum in the autumn, despite the objection of some in Cabinet, notably Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin, who fears that the proposals might cause protest to such an extent that the referendum could be defeated a second time.

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[birthday]

Public service reform!
I recall the beloved B. Ahern talking about reform of the public service as far back as eight years ago. At benchmarking time nothing of significance was received in return.
Kiberd in the SBP mentioned at the time of benchmarking that some of the productivities suggested involved staff committing to join ''Happy Heart Clubs''.
Why reform has never happened tells us about the power of PS unions and gives a very strong reason to end so-called social partnership now. It is a partnership, of course, but in our democracy it was simply a cynical coming together of FF and the usual sectoral interests. Croneyism abounded. Quangos and state Boards were stuffed with ''social partner''. We ended up with things like ''National competitiveness Council'' which identified that more competitiveness was needed but only in the traded sector of the economy!!! Not for the Public Service! Unsurprisingly it is stuffed with senior civil servants and PS union heads who seemed to think competitiveness was just for the private sector and that the gravy train for themselves could continue if somehow others became more competitive!! The recent reports from this quango make fascinating reading in this regard. More recently the ''National competitiveness Council'' have called for introduction of property tax on primary residences. Somewhat outside their remit I would have thought, especially when they have so little to say about making our PS competitive and we already have a commission on Taxation!! Talk about ignoring the elephant in the room !! Still, if we increase taxes and if somehow exports increase following a global recovery these guys think that they will remain immune from reality. I would truly be delighted if Mc carthy put this quango on the top of his list.
Good luck to McCarthy if any of his proposals result in public service reform-the sense of entitlement is well ingrained across the spectrum of FF/Public service.

[Question R24U]

blaming ps unions for getting work conditions for the members is like attacking a tribunal lawyer for their massive fees - they are the wrong target. It is the gutless governments which we have had since the 1920s who have allowed the current situation develop. At the moment some recently unemployed people cannot get emergency relief pending assessment because of industrial action. That is obscene but many here will simply attack the unions and let useless management off the hook..

Btw why can lisbon not be held in july?

[the klingon]

blaming ps unions for getting work conditions for the members is like attacking a tribunal lawyer for their massive fees - they are the wrong target. It is the gutless governments which we have had since the 1920s who have allowed the current situation develop. At the moment some recently unemployed people cannot get emergency relief pending assessment because of industrial action. That is obscene but many here will simply attack the unions and let useless management off the hook..

Btw why can lisbon not be held in july?

True enough but the PS is so greedy and has dissappeared so far up it's own anus they don't see anything wrong in their lavish "let them eat cake" lifestyle, sure Nero is fiddling while Rome burned, as genetic Gov cowardice takes it toll.

Which charities are helping recently unemployed people - is SVP the best place for this?

[Proposition Joe]

At the moment some recently unemployed people cannot get emergency relief pending assessment because of industrial action. That is obscene but many here will simply attack the unions and let useless management off the hook..

The "useless management" in this particular case came up with an entirely logical streamlining of benefit decisions, that was proven to be workable via a pilot scheme.

The CPSU then tried to hold the newly unemployed to ransom by not cooperating with the changes unless there were hundreds of lucrative promotions for their members. Effectively it boils down to extortion - either the taxpayer ponies up for a massive increase in salary costs and knock-on pension laibilities, or they run the risk of getting their dole very, very slowly if they're unfortunate enough to lose their jobs.

So who is to blame here? Why is pointing the finger at the CPSU's disgraceful trading on the misery of the newly employed somehow equate to letting the management off the hook?

[wombat]

Which charities are helping recently unemployed people - is SVP the best place for this?

Give them what you can, a lot of people need emergency help and sometimes they are the only hope.

[birthday]

My ''Animal Farm'' moment came with the revelation that recently unemployed people have had to wait up to sixteen weeks for relief as a result of shenanigans between Dept of Social Welfare and the PS unions.
Let them eat cake as PS unions would say!!

[the klingon]

"There is no reason, though, why a less Bolshevised system of pay determination in the public services could not be introduced. State agencies, including Government depts, local authorities, schools and hospitals could be allocated annual budgets and left free to negotiate their own pay deals -- reflecting supply and demand conditions in their own regions and in the specialised labour markets in which they operate."

This is a great idea on paper, way better than decetralisation. But history tells us the only way pay gets negotiated is up.
Might be difficult to get staff in some counties, especially where a wealthy one and poor one are neighbours. Could torpedoe some hospitals too.

Instead of attempting to dilute PS workers power, it would be better if Gov (with a grown up opposition as partner) cemented it's power base to come up with a genuine plan for dealing with the PS expenditure problem.
It's not going away, and is WAAAY bigger than any political party.

[WackoJacko]

If true, then this is all looking good for the Lisbon Treaty.

[birthday]

This is a great idea on paper, way better than decetralisation. But history tells us the only way pay gets negotiated is up.
Might be difficult to get staff in some counties, especially where a wealthy one and poor one are neighbours. Could torpedoe some hospitals too.

Instead of attempting to dilute PS workers power, it would be better if Gov (with a grown up opposition as partner) cemented it's power base to come up with a genuine plan for dealing with the PS expenditure problem.
It's not going away, and is WAAAY bigger than any political party.

Are you suggesting a bipartisan approach from FF and FG to facing down PS unions?
There seems not a chance of this with current FF leadership