Article: Dear Civil Servant, Are you Aware??
Jamell Robinson
Article: Dear Civil Servant, are you aware?
Men and Women of the Turks and Caicos Islands civil service are you aware of the upcoming Right-Sizing exercise that is pending the approval of a consultant to carry out the work? On December 6th, 2019 the tender notice titled: “Consultancy for the productivity and efficiency audit of the TCI public service”, was closed and was due to be awarded by January 6th, 2020 with a 3 month implementation time table. Notice on its surface it does not really speak to a comprehensive man power review i.e. Right-sizing, but the tip off was the word efficiency and productivity. The last time we did this exercise it didn’t go so well with Steven Catchpole only finishing the Ministry of Border Control after months and months of review. We see how that turned out. The end result was a voluntary severance package being offered. Heads of Departments, did your Permanent Secretary inform you of this upcoming exercise? Front line staff, did your Head of Department inform you of this upcoming exercise? Are all Permanent Secretaries even aware of this exercise?
The following are some key aspects of the tender:
1. Review of mandate of the Government Ministries
2. Asses the efficiency and effectiveness of all departments under the various Ministries in exercising their current mandates
3. Staffing
a. identify additional key and priority staff to fulfill the mandate of the Government
b. establish the qualification profile of each key and priority staff member (existing and required) for TCIG to fulfill its mandate;
c. determine the “FIT” between existing and future staff requirements.
I for one, don’t believe that at this time it’s fair for this PDM Government to even be carrying out such an exercise whose recommendations can result in the sending home of hard working Turks and Caicos Islanders. Why? You cannot objectively assess an officers’ efficiency at their job when they have been forced to work in subpar conditions since Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and in some cases even longer than that. Is it fair when civil servants’ moral is at an all-time low due to broken promises of restored gratuity, better working conditions, increased salaries and equity for all civil servants’? The only notable benefit civil servants have received in the last 3 years is a $30 a month increment on average. This is set to the back drop of legislation being passed to give 100% Service Charge to an industry that is predominantly expatriate workers (more on that later), as oppose to the dealing with core issues of a civil service that’s over 85% local. Yet, under all these constraints and conditions, this government expects civil servants to produce at efficient and productive levels.
The solution is simple enough here: First, use a part of the $43 million surplus and fix or rent the adequate office space so civil servants can work in a comfortable environment to yield better results. Secondly, provide the requisite tools and resources for civil servants to carry out their duties in a timely and effective manner. Finally, rather than wait for a consultancy to tell you what to do about civil service gratuity and pensions, simply restore the old system or implement the agreed policy left on the books by the last PNP administration over three and a half years ago. No sense in hamming and huhhing over something that Ministers get after serving only two terms i.e. gratuity and pension.
Do what is right as our people deserve better.
Jamell Robinson, PNP All Island Candidate (Former Vice President, Civil Service Association)
#HOPE #LIFE #POWER
