Dec 08 - “Beginning Of Austerity?” – GSD Suspects Government Will Make Cuts To Public Service
The GSD has noted the comments attributed to Minister Bossano by the GGCA union committee that the level of growth seen in the civil service since 2011 was “unsustainable in future”.
A party statement continued: “For the last three years the GSD have been drawing attention to the huge increases in annual recurrent expenditure and how these were increasing at a faster rate than recurrent income. A significant part of that related to an unprecedented increase in the public service since 2011. In response, the Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, maintained that the increases in recurrent expenditure (including the public service) were prudent and that our concerns were simply scaremongering.
“The comments made by Minister Bossano vindicate the position that we have taken over the last three years, including the position we took at the last election. The reality is that the creation of a Ministry responsible for public efficiencies under Minister Bossano is a consequence of the unprecedented and unsustainable spending incurred by Mr. Picardo over the last five years.
“We suspect that the reason why Mr. Picardo has been reticent about coming clean on whether the 177 vacancies across the public service will or will not be filled is because the Government is contemplating actual cuts to the public service compliment. In other words, by not filling those vacancies, the actual number of people permanently employed in the public service will go down.
“The failure to explain Government policy and its intention is not honest. This is particularly so given that AA vacancies were advertised by the Government before the last General Election. By doing so they raised the hopes of people and fought an election giving people the impression that those vacancies would be filled.
“Additionally, what we are seeing is contract workers engaged by recruitment consultants covering long term vacancies within the public service. Many of these workers are on the minimum wage. At the same time the Chief Secretary and the Principal Auditor have both received unexplained pay rises of 28%. This will rightly leave a lot of people working on short-term contracts within the public service with a bitter taste in their mouths.
“It appears to us that we are seeing the start of austerity measures. The person responsible is Mr. Picardo and his reckless spending over the last five years. Minister Bossano is merely having to pick up the pieces of that reckless spending.”
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