CIPD warns UK must prepare for 10% public sector cut

The CIPD has estimated that the UK should be braced for a 10% cull in the public sector workforce in the lifetime of the next government – whoever wins the May 6 General Election.
 

The cut would bring the current 5.8 million roster of such jobs down by at least 500,000, says the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) in a new study.

The group says what none of the main political parties' manifestos do; any serious attempt to reduce the UK's national overdraft, which now stands at 80% of GDP, can only be done by tackling 'inefficiency' – jobs will have to go, too.

The CIPD also warned the imminent post election public spending squeeze would be “far greater” than any of the main political parties is prepared to admit.

The organisations' chief economic adviser John Philpott has even gone so far as to say it is "misleading" to suggest that the job losses could be avoided by a combination of pay cuts or short-time working, as private sector experience shows it is "not an effective response where long-term structural change is involved".