Impact warns of fewer Civil Service staff

PROFESSIONAL CIVIL servants are being let go on a constant basis because of a blanket decision by the Government not to renew fixed-term contracts, the Impact conference in Portlaoise was told yesterday.

Impact national secretary Louise O’Donnell told the union’s Civil Service division that 18 staff in the Chief State Solicitor’s office could lose their jobs over the next few months.

The question she wanted to ask was who would do the work of these staff if they were let go?

Ms O’Donnell also warned that large numbers of staff could be eligible to apply for the Government’s new early- retirement programme and this could have “disastrous effects” on the delivery of services.

She suggested the Government was doing its best to scare people into taking early retirement by hinting it may tax retirement lump sums from next year.

Ms O’Donnell also questioned whether the economic crisis would have developed as it did if the Department of Finance had recruited specialist civil servants that it had identified were needed over five years ago.

“As long ago as 2003 the Department of Finance identified shortages in specialist Civil Service areas like economics, financial management, pensions, legal skills and statistics. But, despite acknowledging the need for these specialists, they wanted to fill the necessary posts with more generalists in the standard Civil Service grades. What successful business model would operate like this?

“Impact fought this at arbitration and won. The department responded like a small child in the playground. It took its ball away and went home – refusing to recruit the specialists it had itself identified as vital to an effective Civil Service.”

Ms O’Donnell said it could only be speculated on as to the contribution these trained economists, pension experts, lawyers and financial managers would have made in avoiding the economic meltdown that the Department of Finance subsequently presided over.

“But we can be sure that if they had employed more of the relevant professionals to warn and advise at that stage, we would probably not be facing the slash-and-burn policy that is currently being applied across the public sector.”

Ms O’Donnell said Impact had been available to discuss flexibility and mobility issues with management “when these proposals are designed to improve services or value for money”.

“But we will not be sacrificial lambs, who simply allow management to exploit the recession to push through every change they’ve wanted for years and years, regardless of the impact on services and staff who provide them.”

Meanwhile, delegates at Impact’s services and enterprise division conference, which is also taking place in Portlaoise, passed an emergency motion backing industrial action up to full-scale strike action to protect members’ terms and conditions.