Scotland: no structural change would be needed after yes vote
The former permanent secretary of Scotland, Sir John Elvidge, has said that there will be no need for radical change to existing civil service structures in the country if Scotland votes for independence in the coming referendum.
Elvidge said the decision in 2007 to abolish individual departments and centralise the Scottish civil service had already given Scotland a sound model. Writing in the Guardian he said civil servants working for the Scottish government were already within the control of the Scottish permanent secretary and the country's ministers.
His statements follow the recent announcement that the Commons parliamentary administration select committee is to hold an inquiry into the role of the civil service in Scotland.
Yemen: government pushes to eradicate corruption in the civil service
Yemen has almost finished rolling out a new system involving fingerprinting and facial scanning, designed to tackle corruption in the military, security services and civil service.
Prime minister Mohamed Salem Basindwa said the system was put in place to enhance fairness and transparency in public sector employment, and eradicate problems such as phantom jobs, dual employment and the misapplication of the pension system.
Rio de Janeiro: pay rise deal ends rubbish collection strike
Rubbish collectors and Rio de Janeiro authorities have reached an agreement on pay, ending an eight day strike which left tonnes of rubbish on the streets.
It is reported that the street cleaners have accepted a pay rise of 37%. An earlier deal was rejected by workers.
The strike started at the same time as Carnival festivities.
Greece: troika asks for civil servants to be paid less
The troika – visiting officials from the EU, IMF and European Central Bank – has asked Greece to lower wages for civil servants, Athens' daily newspaper the Kathimerini reported.
A new public sector employee with a university degree earns €1,090 euros a month. The troika also wants Greece to remove automatic pay rises for those working in the private sector, to appease the Greek government's lenders.
Hong Kong: more women in business and the civil service
More women are going into careers in the civil service and business, according to Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, chief secretary for administration of the Hong Kong government.
Women make up 32% of government advisory and statutory bodies compared with 19% in 2001. The number of female managers and administrators in the private sector increased from 26% to 33% between 2002 and 2012.
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