Sinanan: Attract the best talent

WORKS and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan yesterday asked whether enough was being done to attract and retain the best talent in the Public Service. Sinanan posed this question to representatives of the Chief Personnel Department, Public Administration and Communications, Finance and Labour Ministries during a public hearing held by the Social Services and Public Administration Joint Select Committee (JSC) at Tower D of the Port of Spain International Waterfront Centre.

Noting the Public Service is competing with the private sector to hire qualified professionals, Sinanan spoke about a case where a general manager who held a permanent position in a company, had managers on contract who were being paid higher salaries than him. In response, Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) Beresford Riley said efforts are made to “pay above the market in compensation terms.”

According to Riley, the department does “a fairly decent job” in striking a balance between finding and retaining the right people and the need for the Government to pay. He said over time a “a parallel public service” with contract and permanent employees working side by side, has developed. Riley said if the gap between these two groups of workers is too wide, it could lead to human resources issues in the workforce. In response to Riley, Sinanan said, “It tells me what you’re doing. It doesn’t tell me that it’s working.”

In response to a question from JSC chairman Dr Dhanayshar Mahabir, Riley indicated a Cabinet note on short term contract employment should be going to Cabinet soon. After noting the JSC had information which suggested that 26 percent of the Public Service were contract workers, Mahabir requested data from 2007 to 2017, so the committee could better understand the impact of contract employment in the Public Service.