Dear Editor,
In SN of Tuesday June 11, 2019, the president of the Guyana Public Service Union used the occasion of announcing the 96th Anniversary, to send a strong indication of the latter’s agenda for future negotiations with the government, which must be regarded as its expectation of being part, if not all, of the terms of reference of the – ‘high level committee’ proffered by the President, when, with a group of Ministers, he met the GPSU’s president a few weeks ago.
Perhaps more importantly the following declared ‘concerns’ should be interpreted as sending a message of expectation to public servants in the first instance, while forewarning their employers, and the citizenry at large of some of the intractable issues (some quite old) that demand resolution, albeit belatedly.
The agenda contains the following:
a) ‘Restoration of the practice of Collective Bargaining’
b) The inadequacy of remuneration to public sector workers
(Note: ‘public sector’ should read ‘public service’. Agencies in the ‘public sector’ have their own compensation management structures.)
c) ‘The ridiculous allowance being paid to officers has not been reviewed in excess of 20 years.’
(Note: ‘Officers’ in this instance could refer to the ‘public service’ only, as distinct from ‘public sector’ workers. It is time that this concern be addressed.)
d) ‘The outstanding de-bunching exercise and the re-introduction of payment of in-scale increments’
(Note: the above conform with the related recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry Report into the Public Service of 2016; and reflects the lethargy of the employers in their implementation.)
e) ‘The alleviation of contract employment in established ‘public service’ positions’
(Note: the change to ‘public service’ from ‘public sector’); but also a relevant recommendation of the abovementioned COI Report.
f) Increase in the age of retirement
(Note: this is another recommendation of the COI Report into the Public Service 2016 that has not yet been implemented, as compared with other Caricom countries)
g) ‘Sweepers/Cleaners being classified as permanent full time employees’
(Note: This status obtains throughout the ‘public sector’ as well as the private sector – which makes them pensionable)
h) ‘Payment of full gratuity for employees on maternity leave’
(Note: The related benefit should not be expressed as ‘gratuity’)
i) ‘Restoring the Fire Service and Prison Service under the Public Service Commission’
(Note: Both the Fire Service and the Prison Service fall within the purview of the Ministry of Public Security, and are budgeted for in the relevant Estimates. On the face of it, they fall within the purview of the Public Service Commission. But of legitimate concern is the fact that there has not been the post of Fire Chief for more than a decade. How then can there be a Deputy? The GPSU should pursue.)
j) ‘Tabling of Agency Shop legislation’
(No comment)
k) ‘Fully restoring GPSU nominees on ‘public sector’ Boards of directors’
(Note: Should this be at the exclusion of unions recognised by and operative in the respective ‘public sector’ agencies?)
l) ‘Child/day care centres for Public Sector Workers children…’
(Note: Once again the deliberate inclusion of ‘public sector’ agencies in which the GPSU is mostly not represented.
In the case of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission for example where GPSU is represented, the union will have to negotiate with the specific employer.
The government as such cannot intervene.)
The foregoing possibly reflects an insight into the mindset with which ‘high level committee’ would have to deal, taking into account the references to the COI Report of 2016 into the Public Service.
In the above connection, the following extracts of recommendations from the mentioned COI Report should be of interest to all the parties.
“37) That Compensation Management be accepted as a key Human Resource Management function overseeing the full range of compensation Management practices such as grading jobs, and computation of salary structures.
38) That Public Service Management should be solely responsible for Wages and Salaries Administration in the Public Service. Therefore, the responsibilities undertaken by the Establishment Division of the Ministry of Finance relating to fixing salaries should be assigned to Public Service Management.
39) That the restructuring of the Public Service be undertaken in two phases. In the First Phase of the restructuring process, the Public Service Management should be responsible for conducting an audit of current employees’ pay arrangements and undertake the de-bunching exercise and adjust the current structure that will result in adjustment to the salaries for all employees.
44) That the Second Phase of the restructuring process be conducted using the following steps:
1. Establish a Job Evaluation Committee that can be used to identify and select key jobs across the Public Service for a Salary Survey. This is particularly important since these jobs should represent jobs that are common across the Public Service with responsibilities and duties that are recognized and understood.”
Yours faithfully
E.B. John
