Czech Republic: outgoing government opposes amendment to civil service law

http://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2014/jan/11/czech-republic-civil-service-law

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The outgoing Czech government has come out against a draft amendment to the civil service law put forward by the social democrat party.

The outgoing prime minister Jiri Rusnok said the draft legislation is basically unapplicable, and at odds with the constitution with regard to employees' rights.

The social democrats, who will form a part of a new coalition government, disagreed with this, saying that the amendment was carefully prepared.

China: proposed pension reforms prove divisive

The pension scheme for civil servants may undergo reform to bring it in line with schemes for other citizens, after criticism from the public over the privileged nature of pensions for government officials.

Under the current system officials do not need to contribute to the China's pension pool, but receive higher annuities than those working in business or farming, who do input into the pool.

Civil servants say this is offset by their wages, which are generally lower than those of their peers in business.

Scotland: top civil servant denounced SNP council leader as 'militant'

Sir William Kerr Fraser, then permanent secretary at the Scottish Office criticised the now deputy leader of Edinburgh City Council in a 1984 confidential memo, according to newly released files.

Steve Cardownie met Fraser to discuss the impact of Margaret Thatcher's Tory government banning unions from GCHQ. In a confidential note written later to then Scottish secretary Sir George Younger, Fraser called the union leaders "militants" and said the "principal spokesmen for the unions delivered largely political harangues".

Niger: governor orders annual medical tests for civil servants

Governor Babangida Aliyu gave a directive for a mandatory annual medical check-up for all civil servants after a member of his staff died at work recently.

Aliyu said her death could have been avoided, and that mandatory medical checks were necessary because increasing numbers of people neglected their health.

Ireland: Stormont civil servants urged to be friendly with Dublin

Northern Irish civil servants were encouraged to build friendships with their counterparts in the Republic of Ireland in 1977, a confidential memo has revealed.

The message from A J Robinson, private secretary in the Department of Finance, said that the central secretariat of the civil service had asked senior staff to maintain and improve contacts with the Republic.

The memo added that if public servants were attending any important or unusual meetings in Dublin they should first contact the British Embassy.

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