AT long last, there are signs that the States are getting to grips with the self-perpetuating force of nature that is Jersey’s public sector workforce.

To be more precise, they are showing signs of a new willingness to get to grips with it, which is not quite the same thing but is at least a step in the right direction after decades in which the civil service tail has appeared too often to wag the political dog.

The first indication of a different approach came with the announcement by Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf, the holder of the public purse-strings, that new restrictions on recruitment have been introduced in all States departments, requiring proof in advance that it is absolutely vital to fill any vacant posts that are to be offered. Coinciding with the first wave of a voluntary redundancy scheme, the new States rules, according to Senator Ozouf, ‘take us as close as possible to a recruitment freeze’.

To most taxpayers, his statement will be welcome but baffling because it raises the obvious question of why on earth such rules have not been in place for many, many years. It is proof, if that were needed, that the public sector operates in a different world from the rest of us, its workforce cushioned from the all too familiar constraints and pressures which apply elsewhere by the generosity of taxpayers who have, however, now run out of patience.

The Treasury Minister’s clear determination to obtain better value at least makes a refreshing change from the response of recent administrations which, whenever challenged on the size, cost and efficiency of the public sector workforce, would stoutly maintain that there was no room for improvement. Why, if that were true, is no one in authority attempting to take that line today? The reality is that circumstances have forced those at the heart of government to admit what the public has been telling them for years.

The recession, the black hole in public finances and the looming budget deficit have all contributed to this sharp injection of reality. In this new climate, few would argue with the assertion by Scrutiny panel chairman Deputy Roy Le Hérissier, himself once a senior civil servant, that the high-salary culture which has somehow crept unnoticed into the public sector, as exemplified by recent revelations concerning the nonsensical amounts of money paid to some newly recruited experts, must change both rapidly and radically.

The current situation has persisted for so long because, sad to say, most civil servants can run rings round most politicians and persuade them of the indispensable value of their work. That is not so true, however, of either Senator Ozouf or Deputy Le Hérissier, who can now seize this rare opportunity to press on with a campaign to change attitudes on several sides and lay the foundations for a more efficient workforce tailored to the size of the community it exists to serve.