Over 2 000 public officers to get permanent appointments

Prime Minister Mia Mottley said the absence of a fully functioning human resources management information system (MIS) has constrained plans to confirm the appointment of a significantly larger number of civil servants than the 2 095 who will shortly receive permanent appointments.

She also announced a range of initiatives, including expanded additional compensation and improved conditions of service for key frontline workers such as teachers, police officers, and nurses. A comprehensive regrading exercise across the civil service is expected to be completed next year, she said.

Mottley explained that the island’s large civil service has been hampered in the timely management of human resource issues because of the current situation.
She outlined the government’s position on Tuesday while tabling the Public Service (Appointments) Bill in Parliament.

The legislation will facilitate the permanent appointment of 1 170 temporary public officers who have served for more than three years, while 925 officers will be promoted to the positions in which they have been acting.
Government remains the island’s largest employer, with an estimated 20 000 people working in the public service and state-owned enterprises.

Describing the legislative action as part of early Christmas cheer for civil servants, Mottley reminded the House that in 2020, her administration carried out a similar exercise involving more than 6 000 public officers.

“We [are doing] it again, but the numbers that we are dealing with are significantly less, and that is because the Services Commission and the Ministry of Public Service have tried to be able to move with dispatch on a number of issues, but the volume of issues without a functioning HR management information system will always be difficult.”

“We are well on our way to having that functioning HR MIS. . . . Obviously during the period of COVID, everything was put on pause, both for reasons of persons not being able to move, but also because of funding,” Mottley stated.

Beyond regularising the employment of more than 2 000 public officers, the prime minister reiterated her commitment to improving the positions of the country’s main frontline workers, including police officers, teachers, and nurses.

She said: “There is no doubt that the police service, the teachers and the nurses have been those who have been at the front line calling for repositioning and I think the case has been well made . . . because without security we have nothing, we have potentially anarchy.”

“Without health being able to be served and delivered to each person we have nothing and without the capacity to train up minds and to educate our children equally, we have a society that can be literally torn apart by division. So that the government is fully committed to the regrading process and I look forward in 2026 to being able to bring this to conclusion.”

She reminded Parliament that her government granted public officers their first salary increase in nine years; upgraded just under 300 long-serving police constables to the rank of Senior Constable; increased detectives’ allowances by between $1 961 and $2 269 per month; and elevated more than 40 special constables into the regular ranks of The Barbados Police Service.

Highlighting other labour-related achievements, Mottley pointed to the introduction of a national minimum wage and planned increases.

“We are going to continue to make Barbados stronger and make this economy stronger, so that we can continue to make those wages . . . truly liveable wages,” said Mottley, who also serves as Minister of the Public Service.

(IMC)