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A defiant civil service union boss responded to Boris Johnson’s call to return to office by accusing the prime minister of trying to embarrass government workers back to their desks.
Johnson set a goal last night for four out of five workers to return to Whitehall each week before the end of the month, and the Mandarins also provided weekly numbers on the number of employees to monitor progress.
However, Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union, which represents managers and professionals in the public service, said there has been an “industrial revolution” toward working from home.
Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union, which represents managers and professionals in public service, said there has been an ‘industrial revolution’ towards working from home.
He told BBC Radio Four’s Today program: ‘If you look at what happened over the last six months, in addition to transforming into a home service, the civil service has had to transform its priorities.
“He had to deal with a six-fold increase in Universal Credit, he had to develop the licensing scheme to support nine million workers, all while being 95% at home. I don’t think there is much evidence to suggest that it is less effective.
Do you think you are going to lecture the private sector on what is efficient? Are they just going to say ‘this has worked, but since the civil servants are coming back to Whitehall, are we going to tell our staff that they have to come back even though it is working for us now’?
‘This idea that the government is going to lecture the private sector on what is good for it, and the mark of virtue with the civil service is nonsense.
“There has been an industrial revolution and the ministers just let that slide and instead hold these pronouncements out loud, dreaming of cabinet shifts about how public officials are going to get back into office.”
Penman also accused the government of trying to “embarrass” workers by covering the few who have been going to work to return to their desks through the media.
The prime minister’s push is part of a desperate attempt to bail out the economy, during a year in which GDP has plummeted as a result of the crisis.
At the beginning of the shutdown, there were 423,000 civil servants employed full time by the Whitehall departments.
The prime minister set a goal for four out of five workers to return to Whitehall each week before the end of the month.
A graph shows how the UK’s GDP has plummeted this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic
The permanent secretaries were instructed last night to “act quickly” to “bring more staff to the office”, taking advantage of the return to schools and increased public transport services.
In a letter to all Whitehall ministries and seen by mail, Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill and Civil Service Chief Alex Chisholm said that the Prime Minister “ made it clear that his goal is to achieve that as many people as possible return to their workplaces ” safely. .
At a cabinet meeting earlier this week, they said ministers had agreed that “increasing both the number of people in the office and the amount of time those people spend in the office” would be “enormously beneficial” for the civil service. .
“The prime minister is also clear that getting more people back to work in a Covid safe manner will enhance the public services we provide and will also provide a significant boost to the local economies in which they are based,” they added.
The letter warned that the large number of staff working from home had led to a “ reduced level of social interaction among our colleagues, with the loss of some of the spontaneous interaction and cross-fertilization between teams that drives innovation and purpose. sustained common. ”
He added: ‘There have also been challenges in recruiting new or inexperienced colleagues and limitations in the ability to mentor and develop our people.
“In summary, the Government is of the view that, in general, there are significant benefits to be gained from working collaboratively in an office environment and where possible colleagues should return to the office in accordance with Covid security levels.”
Public administration chiefs said the goal is for 80 percent of staff to “go to their usual workplace each week” by using a rotational system that will see some enter for only two or three days.
In a letter to all Whitehall ministries, Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill and Civil Service Chief Alex Chisholm said the prime minister’s goal is to get as many people back to their homes as possible. workplaces in a safe manner.
The push is a victory for the Post, which has called for more officials to return to their desks to set an example for the rest of the country.
In a sign that action is finally being taken, Interior Ministry staff were informed yesterday that they were expected to return soon.
The permanent secretary of the department, Matthew Rycroft, said that it would allow them to carry out a “full and effective action”.
The Mail has continued to monitor staffing levels at Whitehall, with just 5 percent of staff showing up to work in ministries this week.
As millions of students returned to classrooms this week, it was likely to be a busy week at the offices of the Department of Education, which housed up to 2,000 employees prior to the pandemic.
However, only 103 officials arrived at its seven-story headquarters on Tuesday and 120 on Thursday, representing just six percent of capacity.
In the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, where 1,800 people usually work, the number of people has been divided into three figures.
