Public servant’s holiday: Fat cats relax on a ‘special’ extra day

A SPECIALLY designated “public servant’s holiday” yesterday meant consumers were left out in the cold as government agencies shut up shop.

Fat cats relax on their ‘special’ extra day

A SPECIALLY designated “public servant’s holiday” yesterday meant consumers were left out in the cold as government agencies shut up shop.

The little-publicised shutdown came on top of the official Christmas Day and Boxing Day public holidays.

It meant the public wasn’t able to get help from federal and state service centres such as Medicare or the Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) for five consecutive days.

And with many agencies to take a New Year’s Eve early mark at 3pm tomorrow and close Friday for the public holiday, people will have to get in quick for any government help or wait again.

NSW Premier Mike Baird issued a memo in November notifying public sector employees that they would enjoy their own special public service holiday.

“In addition to the public holidays observed in NSW, public service employees who are not entitled to a union picnic day or some other special day (such as the Tuesday after Easter or local holidays) are entitled to a public service holiday,” Mr Baird said.

“T he close-down is an important part of the strategy to reduce recreation leave and accrued work time liabilities throughout the public sector.”

Other government agencies affected by the closures included Centrelink and disability services, with many agencies forgetting to advertise their shutdowns online.

Hotlines directed people to use online services but many transactions such as licence renewals have to be carried out in person.

An Australian Public Service Commission spokeswoman said the federal agency shutdown was not “a whole of government approach”.

“It is negotiated agency by agency,” she said.