The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet minister yesterday said the the Government is looking to place the 83 workers hired pre-election, but for whom it has been unable to find posts, with the private sector.

Pia Glover-Rolle, minister of state for the public service, speaking ahead of the weekly Cabinet meeting, suggested that these persons could be taken on by the private sector with the Government still paying their salaries.

“he persons that would have been engaged in the last eight weeks, especially in the last two to three days prior to the election, we have some persons signing in at the public service and going home because they have nowhere to be placed,” she said.

“And you have some persons who would have been placed and, as I do my assessment, a number of ministries and departments are saying that the people are showing up but they really don’t have anything for them to do.”

These office-less public servants total about 83 workers, and range from persons with a tertiary education to those with just a high school diploma. Their hiring has been “placed on hold” because there is no place to put them within the civil service.

“We have about 68 that are reporting, but have some issues of attendance, and we have another 10 to 12 that are signing in and we don’t have anywhere to place them,” Mrs Glover-Rolle said.

A minority are not showing up at all and are still being paid, and Ms Glover-Rolle said: “I think it’s important in responsible governance that there’s accountability and transparency. The taxpayers’ money is being used to fund the salaries of these workers, and they’re not providing a decent day’s work for the pay that they’re receiving.”

As a result, her ministry has sought to “engage some private sector employers” in an attempt to get some of these workers meaningful jobs. The Government will pay their salaries until their contract comes to an end, and then it will be up to the private sector employer to retain them if they wish.

“We are looking to engage workers and cross check their skill-sets with the needs of the employers,” Mrs Glover-Rolle said, as she urged companies seeking new hires to reach out to the ministry.

“This is a good opportunity for us to look at the redevelopment of the 52-week programme, which we’re going to be terming ‘the public service professional engagement programme’.That name is very deliberate. We want to start engaging workers that have specific skill sets, whether that’s in finance, whether that’s in innovation and technology, and career paths such as human resources.”