Job losses not ruled out as part of public service reforms
REDUNDANCIES have not been ruled out as part of a restructuring of the public sector, which was announced yesterday.
Policy and Resources’ Heidi Soulsby, who leads on government service reform, said islanders wanted to see the States being more efficient before it imposed any tax rises.
‘It’s not fair to ask islanders to pay more unless we’re doing everything possible to minimise cost,’ she said. ‘As a government we need to show how effective we are.’
She was speaking as the States announced it was moving into the next stage of public service reform, something it described as a major milestone.
‘Having made significant improvements in its technology and digital capability, the reform
programme will now see engagement begin with employees across the civil service on a restructuring to create improved and more efficient services,’ it said in a statement.
As a result, some posts could be re-configured to maximise efficiency, and buildings could be phased out to save on maintenance and upkeep costs.
The restructuring was to create a more modern public service which operated a single point of access in a way that put the user first and meant customers’ interaction with government could be through a ‘one-stop, tell us once’ approach.
From today, conversations will be held with employees who might be affected by the changes and interim States chief executive Mark de Garis said he knew some colleagues would feel unsettled by the process.
Asked whether the reforms would involve redundancies, Deputy Soulsby said that was not something she would discuss.
Mr de Garis said managers and the HR team would work with colleagues during restructuring ‘because we want to be transparent, fair and honest with all of our colleagues.’
On the changes generally, Deputy Soulsby said: ‘Interactions with the government can be clunky and cumbersome and they need to change to reflect the digital age we live in.
‘So as we work to recover from the impacts of the pandemic, the time is right to move forward with this restructuring as part of our public service reform.’
Assurances were made that the new system will also accommodate those who prefer in-person communication.
‘Digital isn’t right for everyone, so as part of it we will have face-to-face customer service too.
‘From outside, it will show we are a great place to work and what a modern community we are,’ said Deputy Soulsby.
‘We have to look at what people expect of us.
‘We’ve talked about it for years and now it’s time.’
