Gov’t to Make Public-Sector Contract Workers Permanent Employees

Many contract workers now employed in the public sector will be made permanent employees.

Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, made the disclosure as he opened the 2023/24 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 7.

He said that the objective is to address the longstanding abuse of fixed-term contracts in Government.

“In sharing the gains of economic reform and recovery, this Government will regularise “evergreen consistently renewed” contract workers in Government, bringing them into structured, permanent employment,” Dr. Clarke informed.

He said that the Finance Ministry, through its Strategic Human Resource Management Division will move to address this situation.

Dr. Clarke said the regularisation will come at a cost, as there are approximately 20,000 persons currently employed on contract or temporarily outside of establishment across the public service.

He noted that in many of these instances, the worker is disadvantaged with inferior access to benefits.

“The problem is so large and complex, however, it cannot all be fixed at once. Under the Reform of Contract Work in the Public Sector programme, we will approach this problem on a phased basis, working on one or a few areas at a time until we accomplish the task, and we will engage with our union partners in developing a realistic timeline,” he said.

Explaining the scope of the issue, Dr. Clarke said that in the health sector there are approximately 1,754 doctors, yet the establishment today stands at only 509.

He added that more than two-thirds of doctors employed to the Government are on “evergreen consistently renewable contracts”.

The Minister noted, further, the Ministry of Education and Youth has approximately 8,000 workers on contract, the Ministry of Local Government has several thousand more contracted workers in municipalities and State agencies, and there are several public bodies where every employee is temporarily contracted.

An audit of the employment practices in the Education Ministry shows that across the seven regions, there are approximately 716 cooks and 52 assistant cooks, who are employed on contract, without post codes.

The Minister explained that cooks at the primary level are usually engaged on contracts, and they work for the periods when schools are in session only.

“Based on this arrangement, they are not eligible for pension even after 10 to 20 years of service. This Government is going to resolve this longstanding issue. We will create the post codes required to elevate 716 cooks and assistant cooks in our school system from contract employment to permanent employment,” Dr. Clarke said.

The Government will also create the post codes required to elevate 367 regular watchmen in the school system from contract to permanent employment.

Post codes will also be required to elevate 659 caregivers in infant schools from contract to permanent employment.

In addition, sanitation workers at the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) who have completed the necessary probationary periods will be made permanent employees. There are currently just under 2,000 such sanitation workers.

Regarding the doctors, Dr. Clarke said 80 per cent of medical doctors in the public service are on contracts that have to be periodically renewed.

“After all those years in medical school, the vast majority of our doctors do not have security of tenure; we will fix the problem. The suboptimal arrangement of doctors in the public service on contract work for extended periods of time will be brought to an end by this Government,” the Minister pledged.

“We will aim to complete implementation of the reform of contract work in the public sector within a three-year period, concluding by the end of fiscal year 2025/26.,” Dr. Clarke told the House.