WIREDGOV

The FDA and Scottish Government last week agreed to extend the current no compulsory redundancy agreement until 31 March 2012. The extension to the agreement has just been announced following the conclusion of discussions between the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth and the Scottish Government unions.

The agreement covers all civil servants within the responsibility of Scottish Government, including staff of associated departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies. The FDA, which represents senior managers and professionals in the public sector, welcomes the extension.

Jim Caldwell, the FDA's Scottish Secretary, said: "The extension of the no compulsory redundancy agreement until 31 Marsh 2012 is a major success. The original agreement provided benefits for staff, management and Scottish Government and resulted in efficiency savings without any compulsory redundancies. The extension provides further certainty for those covered by it and allows the unions to negotiate any efficiency savings with the confidence of knowing that staff will not be forced out of employment. We hope that this progressive agreement will be extended even further after the election."

Notes for editors

1. The FDA is the trade union and professional body representing 18,000 of the UK's senior civil and public servants. Our members include policy advisors, senior managers, tax inspectors, economists, statisticians, accountants, special advisers, government lawyers, diplomats, crown prosecutors and NHS managers.

2. Members in HMRC are represented by the Association of Revenue and Customs (ARC), a section of the FDA.

3. The FDA (formerly the First Division Association) should be referred to simply as "The FDA" and can be described as "the senior public servants' union".

4. For further information contact:

• Jim Caldwell, FDA Scottish Secretary, tel: 07967 126778.
• Kay Hender, Communications Officer, tel: 020 7401 5589.