NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) President Kimsely Ferguson has criticized the government’s re-engagement of nearly 500 retired civil servants, arguing that this is a “blatant disregard” for the policies surrounding re-engagements, which state that it should only be temporary and not hinder the advancement of other persons in the service.
Ferguson made the comments in an interview with Eyewitness News after Minister of Labor and the Public Service Pia Glover-Rolle confirmed in Parliament on Wednesday that nearly 500 retired public servants have been re-engaged by the government. Glover-Rolle provided the information during Question Time in the House of Assembly after Opposition Leader Michael Pintard asked how many retired officers had returned to work and were receiving pensions and pay.
“The answer is, 491 retired public officers have returned to work, which represents 1.9 percent of the total number of public servants,” she said. She also noted that 480 of them are receiving their pension and full pay, as is required by the law.
Ferguson stated: “I think the minister justified her response by indicating that there is a lack of skill set at that level, which is an indictment not only on her and the public service but also on the persons that occupied the top positions in government at the permanent secretary level. It is the responsibility of the person at the top level to ensure that there’s some succession plan in place. Furthermore, the return of these particular individuals is an indictment on the government in that there is policy that governs the re-engagement of pensioners, and it indicates that it should be done on a temporary basis. Additionally, it’s not supposed to prejudice the advancement of persons at the next level and so there’s a blatant disregard for policy.”
Ferguson further argued that the training of individuals in the public service to assume a greater level of responsibility rests on the persons that occupy the office, as well as the government themselves, to assure that when persons retire, there would be no need to bring them back.
“I also am of the view that the return of specific senior public officials does not lend to the fact that there’s no skill set. Because in the absence of these particular senior public officials, you have undersecretaries and deputy permanent secretaries at the next level that act in their absence, and so that speaks to the ability of these individuals to get the job done in the absence of the substantive holders of these particular offices. I think the minister should have rethought her response, and even more so, enhanced the training mechanism to guarantee that something of the nature which she claims does not exist.”
Regarding criticism that the civil service is too “top-heavy,” Ferguson responded: “I think it’s top-heavy, simply because nobody wants to go home. My recommendation would be that when a person reaches pension, if the need arises for those individuals to come back, they come back in another capacity that they can contribute to or assist in wherever the deficiency is, but not to prejudice another individual’s opportunity to advance in the public service. There are measuring rods in the annual appraisal system to determine when a person should move to the next level. And so, advancement is not solely based on qualifications, seniority, and merit, and so on, but it’s based on an individual’s ability to carry out the functions at the next level.”
The Free National Movement (FNM) also issued a statement in response to Minister Glover-Rolle’s remarks. “On Monday, the PLP government proudly announced engaging a retired Prime Minister to lead the ‘revolutionized’ Urban Renewal Authority. Today, we learned that the PLP government re-engaged over 500 public service retirees during this term, who in most cases are still receiving their pensions. This is hurtful when we have hundreds of university graduates yearly looking to return home or looking for work but they can’t find it,” the FNM stated.
It added: “The last FNM administration took in hundreds of young professionals who were active university students and those with associate degrees and above throughout the public service. This was strategically done to strengthen its Human Resources with qualified technical and administrative officers. From the University of the Bahamas finance majors to BTVI graduates, opportunities were granted to young people.”
