Labour’s plan to slash civil service jobs is already facing major backlash. Union leaders have torn into the proposal, calling it a “recipe for disaster” and accusing the government of chasing “cheap headlines.”
The plan, set to be announced soon, includes “mutually agreed exits” for underperforming staff, a new pay-for-results system, and increased use of digital systems. High-earning civil servants who don’t improve within six months will also be shown the door.
But critics say the idea mirrors Trump-style policies in the US and fails to address the real issues in public services.
Union Bosses Fire Back
Paul Nowak, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, told Times Radio he was “disappointed” by the plans.
“These proposals seem more about grabbing headlines than actually reforming public services,” he said.
Nowak argued that public sector reform requires working with staff, not cutting them, adding that the plan is a “recipe for disaster.”
He also rejected the claim that civil servants aren’t pulling their weight.
“The real issue? Fifteen years of underinvestment,” he said. “Yes, the number of civil servants has increased, but so have their responsibilities—Brexit, trade agreements, veterinary standards. These are things we never had to handle before.”
Starmer’s ‘Tepid Bath’ Comment Resurfaces
Last year, Keir Starmer ruffled feathers when he said “too many people in Whitehall are comfortable in a tepid bath of managed decline”—a comment widely seen as a warning that reform was coming.
Nowak wasn’t impressed by the rhetoric.
“I don’t think painting hardworking public servants as ‘part of the problem’ is fair,” he said. “Yes, every workforce has people who underperform. But most civil servants work tirelessly in tough conditions.”
‘Cheap Headlines, Not Real Solutions’
FDA general secretary Dave Penman also blasted the plan, saying political chaos—not civil servants—is the real issue.
“We’ve had six prime ministers, eight chancellors, 40 Treasury ministers in the last decade,” he pointed out. “If you want to fix public services, look at the instability at the top first.”
Penman dismissed Labour’s proposal as nothing more than a PR stunt.
“The idea that you can just get ‘more for less’ is nonsense,” he said. “AI and technology can help, but where’s the plan? Ministers should be setting out real solutions, not just throwing out cheap headlines.”
With unions already in uproar, Labour could have a serious fight on its hands.
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