There’s no better way to demonstrate some of the factors affecting public sector productivity than actual situations.
During a Joint Select Committee meeting of Parliament on local government reform, the Minister of Education asked the Chairman of the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation about preparedness to assist with the maintenance of schools. Also, what human resource management measures he would put in place to correct public perception that the corporations’ employees only work a couple of hours?
The chair of the corporation responded that the human resource challenge was a significant one requiring a “change in mindset” and that his corporation had engaged the union “to work on programmes directly tailored to speak to the employees on productivity levels.” He said if he had the opportunity to negotiate with the Chief Personnel Officer, “without touching salaries,” he “would relook the working hours and the breaks so that you can guarantee more productivity for a shorter time without actually supporting the present two-hour perception that exists and in some cases, reality—in many cases that we only work two hours.”
He mentioned a six-hour workday, and that “task schedules” were implemented by people “who don’t have the capacity.” He said, “regional corporations and municipalities all together” hadn’t “done enough analysis to work out simple things,” like how much bags of cement they use a month—cement being a figurative representation of all materials. Dr Surujrattan Rambachan responded that he almost felt the chairman “was institutionalising unproductivity…and cannot do anything about it.”
Those few minutes of discussion showcased significant issues affecting productivity: leadership skills and expertise, recruitment, performance management, lack of accountability, and work ethic. It pointed to the criteria for selecting local government CEOs. The debilitating factors aren’t unique to local government but equally, apply to the public service generally as the Auditor General’s annual reports continue to reveal.
Another significant factor is the negative impact of protracted wage increase settlements that often result in work stoppages. Needless to mention the wasteful “days of rest and reflection”—illegal strike action without consequences. What’s the solution to keep absenteeism within reasonable levels?
According to the Commissioner of Police (October 2018), officers on suspension cost the State $50 million annually in salaries. One wonders if there's a similar situation in the education and health institutions and brings focus to deficiencies in disciplinary policies and procedures, and managing employee complaints. It raises the issue of the role of service commissions—institutions created for another era.
In July, the Minister of Planning and Development had mentioned there were 13,000 vacancies in government ministries. That number should have raised a red flag about organisation structures, technology, workforce planning, and recruitment. More so as it’s evident from the Government’s financials that rising salary cost is unsustainable, especially where there’s dependence on state transfers and subsidies.
Low productivity and poor service are not merely reflections of employees’ work ethic. The redline underscores leadership and the ensuing problems mentioned above. And, denying there’s isn’t a link between dysfunctional political behaviour and public sector productivity will be disingenuous.
What about recruitment practices? In progressive corporations, workplace diversity management is par for the course, eg, banks, bpTT, Shell, Microsoft etc. They’d long ago recognised that academic distinction isn’t a measure of the best and brightest minds in the workplace and is not a criterion for recruiting employees at any level. And it wouldn’t be fair to other graduates who have strong qualifications and the personal values the organisations want. The stakeholders of organisations are diverse, and race and gender are sensitive issues, so sound diversity policies embedded in the principles of integrity and fairness are crucial, especially in the public sector.
Consequently, it’s wise to assess potential employees across comprehensive and relevant recruitment criteria that would include character, the aptitude for service, and work experience. Such policies contribute to ensuring not only workforce diversity but organisation strength as well. Done well and consistently, it’s unlikely to result in mostly women, or mostly men or one ethnic group dominating recruitment results in a multicultural society like ours. No system is perfect, and results may not always match fully recruitment goals because diversity management is not affirmative action, which selects people because of past perceived or real injustices.
What are some solutions? Competent and innovative leadership, recruitment policies, performance management and accountability, and technology to improve systems and processes. Constitutional changes will be required to overhaul the system. Hence, cooperation will be necessary across the political divide—don’t hold yuh breath. Physical working conditions conducive to the health and safety of workers are paramount. Trade unions still need to make the journey to the realities of the present century. The buck stops with governance of the sector. Draw the redline.
