Our self- serving servants
BAGGING the public service is a national sport, but there’s plenty of evidence to show it is entirely justified. The situation appears so dire it seems only a Donald Trump- like, swamp- draining, union- busting autocracy can fix it – but even that looks impossible.
That’s because governments, particularly Labor under the influence of unions, use public sector appointments to inflate their job creation figures, which has the added benefit of hiring an army of people who are more likely to vote for them.
When a conservative government wants to cut costs and get the private sector to create jobs, the public- sector unions swing into action with scare campaigns, and so no party is game enough to touch the subject.
Queensland’s public service was thrust into the spotlight on Sunday when an employee writing under the pseudonym “Allison Adani” boldly claimed 70,000 of the state’s 220,000 public servants should be sacked.
Figures show the public service had 201,409 workers in March 2015 and some estimate just 59 per cent of the extra workers put on since are in “frontline” positions. The public service wages bill is estimated to be growing by $ 1 billion a year and is currently $ 22.8 billion – this is an increase of 38 per cent in just six years.
In that time, Queensland’s tax revenue has increased by “just” an estimated $ 3.5 billion.
But private sector wages have stagnated, so we’re paying more tax to sustain the growing public service but not getting pay rises.
The Institute of Public Affairs has crunched the numbers.
“Historically, average public sector pay in Queensland has always exceeded average pay in the private sector,” IPA researcher Aaron Lane said.
“The latest ABS data shows this gap has widened since 2014 as private sector wage growth has stagnated.”
The IPA also found the average Queensland private wage is $ 1553.70 a week, while in the public sector it’s about $ 1704.70.
Labor already hit us with five new taxes after the election, but it’s clear we’re in for a lot more hip- pocket pain.
Public sector employees receive 15.4 per cent superannuation contributions compared to about 9.5 per cent for the private sector.
Plus “flexi time”, rostered days off, cumulative sick leave ( where any unused sick days are added to next year’s allocation) and other perks are nothing like what many privatesector workers receive.
One public servant told me a colleague announced she would be working from home for a few days. Not a request, just a directive.
Another one told me he finishes his allocated work by lunchtime most days, but the kicker was that he found out four people used to be employed in his role. He’s disgusted but he’s not going to knock back easy money.
Another one said his boss starts at 10.30am and leaves at 4pm but no one in the office knows what she actually does. Yet another said “Allison Adani’s” article was spot on, particularly her description of gender disparity which means just 35 per cent of public servants are men.
“Middle- aged white men are like unicorns in the public service – you just don’t see them,” he said.
“And unless you use words like ‘ facilitate’, ‘ stakeholder engagement’, and ‘ diversity’, you’ve got no chance of getting a job.”
This is the same man who was so desperate for work he faked Aboriginal ancestry and found his callbacks and interview requests for public service jobs immediately soared.
Other public servants are just as critical as the rest of us, and they blame a management style that’s so stifled by process that nothing can get done.
“There are a lot of good people getting through a lot of work and copping a lot of crap from the public for delays, but the bottleneck is definitely at management level,” one said.
With politicians petrified by union scaremongering and bullying, it is virtually impossible to penetrate the cosy shell the public service has made for itself.
Campbell Newman tried to drain the swamp, but he proved no match for the union scare machine.
The LNP has promised no forced redundancies if it wins the next election, but this won’t be comforting enough for some desperate to protect their cushy ivory towers.