Workforce

New law to squeeze employment protections for US Veterans Affairs staff

A controversial bill that will allow the swift dismissal of staff at the US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) is awaiting sign-off by president Donald Trump after receiving the backing […]

UK civil service grappling with ethnic minority representation, study finds

Ethnic minorities are still “woefully underrepresented” in the British civil service despite attempts to improve diversity, according to the Institute for Government (IfG). Analysis from the London-based think tank reveals […]

US lawsuits probe alleged bullying of civil servants by Trump administration

A non-profit watchdog body in the US is suing two federal departments in an attempt to secure information on alleged harassment by the Trump administration of civil servants who’ve worked […]

Nigerian government signs skills deal

The Nigerian Civil Service has formed a private-public partnership (PPP) with the Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG), a private sector-led, Nigerian-Ghanaian initiative dedicated to improving the quality of public sector […]

Trump’s budget: federal staff braced for layoffs

Donald Trump’s first Budget as president of the United States may, characteristically, lack detail – but for federal government employees the writing is now clearly on the wall. Billed as […]

Tina Tchen, former Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls: Exclusive Interview

After 22 years as a partner in a Chicago law firm, Tina Tchen was hired by the Obamas to spearhead their work on gender equality. She tells Matt Ross how […]

Contractors outnumber civil servants in Australia’s defence department

Consultants and contractors now outnumber permanent staff in Australia’s Department of Defence, its exasperated chief revealed last week during a webinar with 2,000 public servants from the ministry’s Science and […]

Women prioritised in dead heat contests for top Irish jobs

Women are to be favoured in selection processes that find two candidates to be of equal merit, under new rules applying to senior jobs in Ireland’s civil service. On 16 […]

US staff engagement creeps up, despite complaints over performance management

Employee engagement in the US federal government has improved slightly in the past year, but staff still complain of a lack of effective performance management, according to the annual staff survey. […]

Canadian unions fight new PM Trudeau on employment reforms

Canada’s largest public sector union has warned of a “make-it-or-break-it” moment for negotiations with the country’s Liberal government over contracts for federal government workers. Talks are resuming this week between […]