Union attacks Brown over lack of vision for Civil Service

Gordon
Brown’s efficiency and relocation plans for the Civil Service are a
"missed opportunity" according to Prospect union deputy general
secretary Jenny Thurston.

Thurston
said: "{The] announcement confirms the previous position that 100,000 jobs
will be cut or moved as a result of the Government’s proposals. Limited numbers
of professional staff are likely to be affected. But for those that are,
Prospect will demand that all moves are voluntary; that alternative employment
must be offered to all affected staff; and that a properly funded redeployment
package is offered to all those who relocate.

"So
far Prospect has seen no efficiencies or worked out plans that would justify
cuts on the scale envisaged by the chancellor. In every case, Prospect will be
scrutinising the fine detail to ensure that no public service is damaged by
either the Government’s efficiency cuts or relocation plans," she said.

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"Yet
again this is a missed opportunity to enhance quality of service to the public.
The Government has nothing to say about enhancing the specialist expertise on
which it depends or investing in the scientists and professionals who make
government tick. Specialists in the Civil Service have been cut by more than 35
per cent since 1991 and in many departments the position is reaching crisis
point."

By Quentin Reade