Following on from part 1 where I discussed the Public Service leading on employment practices, another area it must also lead is Remuneration Equity. While the much touted Pay and Grading Scheme has been implemented, there still remains Remuneration Inequity throughout the Civil Service. Presently you have four Major Groups of Civil Servants: The first are the Permanent Secretaries (PS) and Deputy Permanent Secretaries (DPS) that are on 3-5 year contracts with huge but fixed salaries. By all indications they do not get a gratuity or end of contract bonus; the second group is first and second time contract holders primarily made up of foreign nationals. Their terms include at least a 15% gratuity on successful completion of contract, duty exemption on the import of a vehicle and other goods within the first six months of employment, round trip tickets for them, spouse and two to three children where applicable, Housing allowance the for duration of their contract, plus vehicle, telephone and other allowances as applicable to the post. Additionally, they have an option to go on “Local Terms” after completion of two contracts;
The third and likely smallest of the four groups is Locals joining the service before April 1992 when the National Insurance Scheme was introduced. They are eligible for 10-15% of their pension to be converted as gratuity on leaving the service, though it was the intention during the Interim Administration to phase out that provision over time. Still that gratuity is not a “True” Gratuity as in the case of Contract Officers. That’s pretty much it! There however is the possibility for group 3 to receive allowances if applicable to the Post or in the case of Housing if they are transferred to another island not designated as your home base; the forth and biggest group is locals joining the service after April 1992. They get their employment terms and in the majority of cases are not eligible for any allowances. Clearly there is not remuneration equity in the civil service which is essentially set up like a caste system where some will have and will continue to benefit more than others.
Before I move on to possible solutions for the above, can we please eliminate the terminology “Local Terms” from our lexicon! It harkens back to an era long passed and just highlights the unfairness of the employment of Turks and Caicos Islanders whom are in a less beneficial position than others within our own public service. Yet we wonder why we are treated the way we are in both the public and private sector as second and third class when successive Governments have sanctioned it by the simple use of the words and meaning of “Local Terms”.
So, what are the Solutions??
Solution 1. Cut out true gratuity for all contract workers and use the savings to introduce an award and performance bonus scheme for all civil servants to benefit. As argued from my TCICSA days, the scheme can be tied to performance appraisal targets and issued every two to three years once a majority of targets have been met for consecutive years by employees. The greater the number of years of consecutive great works the bigger the payout. The scheme can be applied to both contract and non-contract workers. The only consideration to this would be whether Heads of Departments and above should be eligible given their already high salaries. Should the decision be made for it to be applied to PS’s and DPS’s, the Minister for which they are serving and the Deputy Governor should conduct the appraisal to establish how effective they were in carrying out the agenda of the Government of the Day.
This solves a huge part of the inequity for the largest group of the four made up of primarily Turks and Caicos Islanders. The bonus also provides an immediate investment opportunity for civil servants either as individuals or as a group should they wish to do so. Simply, a person should not have to wait until the end of their career to find a post retirement investment when they can build their nest egg throughout their years of service. Starting a fund with an initial five million dollars and adding two to three million dollar in subsequent years, the investment arm of an Organisation such as the National Insurance Board could invest and grow it, which would make the program viable for years to come. This is an alternate to leaving the funds to be generated by the recurrent revenue each year which would leave it open to year to year fiscal shocks.
Solution 2. Simply put everyone in TCIG on Contract and let the terms be the terms, equal across the board. In the year 2015, the civil service is not looked at as a lifelong career option as in days of old. Between present bottlenecks in upward mobility and lack of long term benefits, any potential employee will always kept their options open for a possible move to the private sector. There is nothing wrong with that either as sometimes you have to move over in order to move up. The notion that having all persons on contract will result in continuity issues is folly because at any point a person could leave their current post as is, whether through promotion within TCIG, a new job in the private sector, study leave, or death. In all cases it’s next man up. Several benefits will manifest however. Greater efficiency will result as all persons will be working towards their next contract i.e. if you hit your targets you stay and are rewarded accordingly, if not you go. Think about a Basketball Player in a Contract Year, they often produce their best statistics as they are seeking a new contract. The same would apply here as well. Also, this forces the development of greater continuity because persons could leave at any time and the next person or persons would have to step in. This would put an end to the current phenomenon that departments cannot function if the Head is on vacation or isn’t available.
To conclude, if an Organisation which is led by a majority of Turks and Caicos Islanders cannot lead and implement these simple things, how are we going to lead in the complex areas which are associated with moving the TCI towards Independence?? That’s why the Public Service must lead!!
– Jamell Robinson
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