Jan Parkinson – CEO of Local Government Employers

2008 could be turbulent for local government employees according to Jan Parkinson, CEO of Local Government Employers.

With a mission to “create solutions on pay, pensions and the employment contract” for local government employers it is no wonder that Parkinson feels she may have a busy year ahead.

Her organisation negotiates on behalf of 2.2m local government employees – including the emergency services – and her charges are not happy. “Local government employees are often seen as the poor relation within the public sector” Parkinson comments when outlining how unhappy the trade unions are with Gordon Brown’s measures to reign in public sector pay inflation.

Negotiations throughout the year are expected to be complex and, at times, acrimonious, which will require Parkinson to rely on her leadership team to perform strongly. “My senior team are seasoned negotiators, diplomats really, who can analyse the wider picture, bring people together and build a consensus.” And they are going to need all their skills in 2008.

The deteriorating economic situation won’t help Parkinson’s task. Today local government employs a huge percentage of the workforce, and central government claim that any increase in public sector pay has a major impact on inflation. “The economy is central to everything we do” says Parkinson, ”and the Government are taking a very tough stance on public sector pay this year.”

As this year’s discussions progress it will be essential to strengthen the skills base of the negotiating team. According to Parkinson “At the top of the HR profession I see a lack of good people with strategic skills, and at the tactical level we are in need of people with excellent project management and commercial skills”

Looking beyond 2008 Parkinson sees major challenges as well as a cause for optimism. One of the challenges will be the rapidly ageing local government workforce, with over 40% retiring in the next decade. The next generation of employees will be called on to fill that gap, and according to Parkinson, there is great potential in that group. Parkinson states “we have a great story to tell future local government employees, but we are battling against media negativity.”

It is clear that as young people continue to look for fulfilling careers and a way to contribute to society local government will be a career option. With some local government graduate schemes oversubscribed it appears that the next generation are certainly interested in taking on the challenge.

http://www.lge.gov.uk/