Union concern at government job cuts - 17 March 2004

The FDA, the union that represents senior public service managers and professionals, has expressed considerable concern at announcements in today's budget to cut civil service jobs.

Jonathan Baume, FDA general secretary, said: "The government is proposing a radical restructuring of the civil service. The Chancellor's announcements today of major job cuts in many departments go considerably further than the plans we were already aware of. We will be insisting on urgent meetings with departments to consider the detail."

"No one should underestimate the implications of these cuts for individual civil servants at all grades and their families. We see no justification whatsoever for any compulsory redundancies. To avoid this it will be essential that the government establishes a central mechanism for co-ordinating the implementation of these plans across all departments. The government also must recognise that during this period of considerable change it will be essential to avoid uncertainty and to maintain the motivation of staff so that they can continue to deliver high quality and efficient public services to the UK."

Ends

Notes for Editors
1. The FDA is the trade union and professional body representing the UK's 11,000 senior civil and public servants. Our members include policy advisors, senior managers, tax inspectors, economists, statisticians, accountants, special advisers, government lawyers, crown prosecutors and NHS managers.
2. For further information contact: