Dear Editor,
There has been a certain amount of confusion regarding the President’s announcement of an 8% increase to Public Servants’ salaries as a whole; then other adjustments to specified parties.
First of all, Public Service positions are those included in the annual budget list of Ministries, amongst whom are the: Ministry of Home Affairs, consisting of – Guyana Police Force, Guyana Fire Service, Guyana Prison Service (omitted).
None of the above is part of what is described as the ‘Disciplined Services’, of which the ‘Guyana Defence Force’, is a member, and not contained in the Budget.
In the meantime, no reference seems to have been made of the Ministry of Health, and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, both of which are shown in the Budget of Public Services. Consequently, one is left to wonder why their respective professionals (and para-professionals) have not been considered for specialised increases, as other identified counterparts.
Then again one needs to be assured that the Teaching Service is well included in this ‘bonanza’, for they are not technically ‘Public Servants’. But whatever are the technical strengths and weaknesses of this latest compensation exercise, it will be seen by all as merely a constipative Christmas gesture that, albeit, was initiated without consultation with any of the parties that are in the Constitution of ‘One Government’ – most substantively the Guyana Public Service Union and the Guyana Teachers’ Union.
It is not as if this repetitiously fundamental human resource management deficit is not being observed by our Caricom neighbours, and quite likely by well-informed resident foreign agencies.
The current, like previous Administrations, continues to indulge in the non-utilisation of the salary scales, fundamentally ignoring such human resource management principles as ‘Performance Evaluation’, conducted as objectively as possible, to determine who qualifies for promotion to fill prospective vacancies. In its place there is the predisposition to appoint ‘Contracted Employees’, all in the following job categories: a) Administrative, b) Senior Technical, c) Other Technical and Craft Skilled, d) Clerical and Office Support, e) Semi-skilled and other Unskilled and Operatives’.
In every instance there persists the issue of the new recruit being appointed at the same salary as those in the same or similar positions, for as long as the last 20 years, for example – not only creating a fundamental compensation and inequitability; but more critically, a subversion of the human spirit and morale of the elder employees.
In the circumstances how urgently and when, are the relevant parties going to negotiate and agree to arrange to revive this mechanism in order to know how to relieve all the human beings concerned from the ‘bunching’ pandemic. Unless they confer, they would never know.
In the meantime, please see the results of the special ‘icing’ that will be served to the listed human resources categories: The following Tables summarise the effective periodicities over which the respective ranges (?) of increases are projected to be applicable.
The Constitutional Disciplined Services seem to have been promised salary ranges in respect of the following only.
Yours faithfully,
E. B. John
Organisation Development
and Human Resources
Management Consultant
