Category Archives: Civil service

Up to half a million to strike across UK as talks go ‘backwards’

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Action by teachers, civil servants, Border Force staff and train drivers to go ahead, with ministers accused of ‘stonewalling’

Up to half a million workers will go on strike on Wednesday with thousands of schools shut, rail lines closed down and significant border disruption, as unions said negotiations on ending strikes were “going backwards”.

Ministers have been accused of “hoodwinking the public” and freezing any moves towards a settlement with NHS workers and rail unions. Government sources privately conceded that optimism at the beginning of the month about bringing an end to industrial action had faded.

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Nurses to strike again as ministers prepare to introduce ‘spiteful’ bill

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Industrial action also set to escalate in other sectors while government gears up anti-strike legislation

A wave of further teaching, ambulance and civil service strikes is likely to move forward this week as nurses are set for their second major period of industrial action.

While ministers signalled a new deal may be close with the rail unions, strikes looked set to escalate in other sectors as ministers geared up to introduce controversial new anti-strike legislation to the House of Commons on Monday.

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Unions expected to take legal action against Rishi Sunak’s anti-strike laws

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Proposed law requiring 20% of rail service during strikes could extend across public sector including NHS

Unions are expected to take legal action against anti-strike laws being prepared by Rishi Sunak amid reports the curbs will be unveiled when parliament returns this month.

The legislation being looked at by Sunak would extend plans already announced by ministers to enforce minimum service levels on public transport – meaning 20% of regular rail services would need to continue during strike action.

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Civil service union warns of possible strikes by junior doctors and teachers

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General secretary Mark Serwotka predicts ‘coordinated and synchronised’ action from January

The head of the largest civil servants union has warned ministers that “coordinated and synchronised” strike action across the economy will “significantly escalate” from January.

Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), was speaking as his members employed in passport control for Border Force set up picket lines at Britain’s largest airports on Wednesday, in a four-day strike set to continue until New Year’s Eve.

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Kwarteng had ‘all the advice’ but disregarded warnings on mini-budget, MPs told

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Treasury officials tell select committee they set out impacts of £45bn plan for former chancellor

Kwasi Kwarteng disregarded warnings that his £45bn mini-budget could trigger a backlash on the financial markets, Treasury officials told MPs today.

The department’s permanent secretary, James Bowler, said he was “absolutely confident Treasury officials set out the right advice” to the then chancellor.

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Timetable of trouble: the wave of strikes set to hit the Tories this winter

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Rampant inflation and government policy has brought matters to a head: so where is disruption going to hit and what are the unions asking for?

Strikes are not something most managers think about. The oft-mentioned “winter of discontent” and year-long miners’ strike were features of the late 1970s and mid-1980s. Since then, industrial action in the private and public sectors has fallen to a level so low that academics have given up studying it.

When pay talks began a year ago for the current financial year, inflation was rising, but the Bank of England was reasonably certain it would be temporary. Union leaders prepared for a post-pandemic battle over pay, but not one that would probably end in strike action.

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Dominic Raab facing ‘series’ of bullying claims from civil servants

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Deputy PM’s former private secretaries reportedly preparing to submit formal complaints

Dominic Raab is facing multiple fresh complaints from senior civil servants in multiple government departments over allegations of bullying behaviour, according to reports

The deputy prime minister’s former private secretaries, responsible for handling the day-to-day affairs of government ministers, are preparing to submit formal complaints, according to BBC Newsnight.

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Raab facing more formal complaints over bullying allegations from MoJ staff

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Exclusive: senior staff submit multiple complaints about deputy PM’s first stint at justice ministry

Dominic Raab is facing multiple formal complaints from Ministry of Justice (MoJ) civil servants over allegations of bullying behaviour during his previous stint running the department, the Guardian has been told.

The justice secretary has vowed to “thoroughly rebut and refute” the two official complaints he is already facing, one from the MoJ and one from his time as foreign secretary, but further formal allegations will be a blow to his attempts to clear his name.

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Top Whitehall official had to apologise over alleged bad behaviour by Raab

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Exclusive: Source says MoJ permanent secretary made move to prevent incident from escalating into formal complaint

Dominic Raab behaved so badly in a meeting with the Home Office during his first stint as justice secretary that his department’s top official had to personally apologise to counterparts afterwards, the Guardian has been told.

Whitehall sources said the deputy prime minister, who is facing two official complaints over alleged bullying, had acted “so badly and inappropriately” at a high-level meeting earlier this year that the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) was forced to call senior officials of the then home secretary, Priti Patel, to express regret.

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Flagship post-Brexit Australia trade deal ‘not actually very good’, MPs hear

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Former minister George Eustice tells Commons senior civil servant in charge of negotiations should be replaced

The UK’s flagship post-Brexit trade deal with Australia is “not actually a very good deal”, former environment secretary George Eustice has said.

In highly critical comments, Eustice called for the resignation of Crawford Falconer, the interim permanent secretary for the Department for International Trade, telling the Commons Falconer “resented” people who understood technical trade issues better than him.

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MoJ staff offered ‘route out’ amid concerns over Dominic Raab behaviour

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Exclusive: Some civil servants may have still been traumatised by his previous stint there, sources say

Senior civil servants at the Ministry of Justice were offered “respite or a route out” of the department when Dominic Raab was reappointed last month, amid concerns that some were still traumatised by his behaviour during a previous stint there.

Several sources told the Guardian that about 15 members of staff from the justice secretary’s private office were taken into a room where departmental officials acknowledged they may be anxious about his behaviour and gave them the option of moving roles.

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UK set for new wave of strikes as civil servants and train drivers vote for action – politics live

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Around 100,000 civil servants, working in multiple government agencies, have voted to strike in a dispute over pay, pensions and jobs.

According to Pat Leahy, political editor of the Irish Times, the Irish government is doubtful about the prospect of a breakthrough in the coming weeks in the talks on the Northern Ireland protocol.

In his Sky News interview Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, also suggested that large number of politicians in parliament are voting for Matt Hancock to perform “grim” tasks on I’m A Celebrity. My colleague Aubrey Allegretti has the story here.

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Gavin Williamson announces resignation but ‘refutes the characterisation’ of claims against him – as it happened

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Former deputy chief whip Anne Milton tells Channel 4 Williamson used ‘leverage’ and threats against MPs

Sima Kotecha, Newsnight’s UK editor, has spoken to Tory MPs who are not surprised about the allegations about Sir Gavin Williamson being a bully.

Ian Murray, the shadow Scottish secretary, has said that if Alistair Jack, the Scottish secretary, was confident about defending his record at an election, he would not be getting ready to accept a peerage. Referring to today’s Times story (see 10.55am), Murray said:

We cannot comment on speculation about peerages. Alister Jack is absolutely committed to representing his constituents and working with the prime minister to continue to deliver for people in Scotland.

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Truss overrules Kwarteng Treasury pick in bid to calm markets

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Veteran official gets permanent secretary role instead of reformer as fiscal plan is brought forward by three weeks

Liz Truss has overruled Kwasi Kwarteng’s top appointment at the Treasury and handed the role to a veteran Treasury official, one of a series of moves designed to calm markets and backbenchers.

It was also announced that the chancellor will set out plans to shore up the public finances three weeks earlier than planned and publish long-awaited forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility at the same time.

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Revealed: Suella Braverman sets Home Office ‘No boats crossing the Channel’ target

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UK’s new home secretary upsets civil servants with speech on migrants, trashy TV and back-to-office call

The new home secretary has already prompted consternation among Home Office officials after telling them she wants to ban all small boats crossing the Channel, the Observer has learned.

During her inaugural address to departmental staff last Wednesday, Suella Braverman said a top priority would be stopping all Channel crossings. She has also asked all staff to watch “trashy TV” to help their “mental wellbeing”, a source said, specifically citing Channel 4’s Married at First Sight and First Dates as well as Love Island.

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Plans to sell £1.5bn of UK government buildings based on ‘fantasy’

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Jacob Rees-Mogg accused of pursuing agenda of ‘punishing civil servants who work from home’

Plans to sell off £1.5bn worth of government-owned buildings are based on “fantasy” job cuts to the civil service and ignore the role of hybrid working, critics have said.

They took aim at Jacob Rees-Mogg’s crackdown on what he called “under-utilised” property, under which the number of offices operating at the heart of Westminster would more than halved.

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Jacob Rees-Mogg to sell London offices as civil servants work from home

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Minister had urged staff to go into office and attacked FCA over working from home

Jacob Rees-Mogg has revealed he is planning to sell off £1.5bn worth of government offices in London due to the proportion of civil servants continuing to work from home.

The minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency will publish a strategy next week that includes selling property assets over the next three years, with staff working in fewer buildings as part of a new network of government “hubs”, the Telegraph reported.

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‘Zombie government’: more than half of departments delay key decisions

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As an economic crisis looms in the UK, legislation shelved and deadlines missed on energy, online safety and gambling laws

Mining along the west coast of Cumbria goes back to at least the 1600s, and this summer the local community awaited a crucial government decision on whether a new deep coalmine operation would be given the go-ahead.

While proponents of the £165m deep coalmine near Whitehaven say it would create jobs and help power the UK’s steel industry, environmental campaigners say it would undermine the government’s commitment to meeting climate targets.

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Truss suffers setback as criticism of civil service pay plan brings U-turn

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Foreign secretary forced to abandon policy amid widespread criticism from within Conservative party

Liz Truss suffered a humiliating setback in her bid to become the next prime minister on Tuesday, as she was forced into a U-turn on civil service pay after a backlash from within her own party.

The foreign secretary swiftly abandoned the cornerstone of her plan for a “war on Whitehall waste” when it was revealed it could lead to pay cuts for millions of teachers, nurses and police officers.

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Rishi Sunak says he is underdog in PM race as ‘forces that be’ want Truss

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Former chancellor suggests Tory party powers hope leadership contest will be ‘a coronation’ for his rival

Rishi Sunak has positioned himself as the underdog in the Conservative leadership race, claiming the “forces that be” want Liz Truss to be the next prime minister.

Addressing a crowd in Grantham on Saturday, the Lincolnshire home town of Margaret Thatcher, Sunak declared “have no doubt, I am the underdog” and suggested that Conservative party powers want the race to be “a coronation” for Truss.

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