Keir Starmer faces challenges with civil servants striking over office demands, highlighting a disconnect in expectations and reality.
London: So, what’s the deal with civil servants going on strike just because they have to work in the office three days a week? Seriously, it’s hard to believe they think that’s a big ask.
Fran Heathcote, the head of the PCS union, called this demand “Victorian.” Is she joking? It feels like she’s living in a different world where work is done by magic.
It’s wild how out of touch some of these civil servants seem. The Office for National Statistics even backed the strike, claiming two days in the office is too much. And some want to work four days but still get paid for five. Really?
Who do they think is footing the bill? It’s the hardworking folks in the private sector who are getting taxed to support them.
And let’s talk about the irony. Some civil servants in Defra want to work just two days a week while overseeing a tax grab from farmers who work tirelessly every day of the year.
If the civil service was running smoothly with no backlogs, maybe there’d be a case for remote work. But that’s not the reality. Productivity has taken a hit since lockdown.
Meanwhile, the number of civil servants is climbing, and so are their salaries. There are now over half a million of them, a rise of more than 3.8% in just a year.
Maybe it’s time to take a cue from Trump and get these government employees back in the office full-time. We need to cut down on those doing just Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion jobs.
But Labour? They’re not going to make those changes. The reforms I pushed for to cut diversity roles and focus on better service have been tossed aside in favor of their woke agenda.
If they won’t follow Trump’s lead, maybe they should look at Reagan, who fired all the air traffic controllers when they went on strike. It’s a bold move, but it could be just what’s needed to handle this striking civil service.
