Any slight increase in the wage bill will have serious implications because it means we’ll have to look for either cutting expenditure in other areas, particularly our social programme, which would be undesirable,” Thompson told reporters. And if we are certainly not contemplating layoffs or any reduction in wages so we are hoping this year, in the construction of our estimates, to be able to not increase the wage bill in any way other than by way of increments – – CANANEWS 02/02/2010

The quote above is attributed to the late Prime Minister David Thompson. BU remembers that it was the then Minister of Economic Affairs David Estwick who first socialized the idea government should use a wage freeze as part of its fiscal strategy to respond to the challenge of a runway deficit on current account. He reached out to the unions by asking them to be sensitive to the current economic realities.

Successive governments have used the public service to pamper the electorate, in 1991 a DLP government imposed an 8% cut in salaries and sent home 3,000 public sector workers as a response to the urgent need to cut back spending which was a condition to drawing down on IMF funds. This time around a DLP government which finds itself in a tough economic situation has decided to raise its domestic debt profile to a level where it has never reached. The consequences of the decision means it has become fair game for those who appreciate the precarious position it places the economy. Thankfully our foreign exchange reserves although dwindling does not require we approach the IMF at this time.

One would have thought using only commonsense after ‘surviving’ the austerity period of the 90s, governments to follow would have capitalized on the need to retrofit the public service. To the contrary Barbados finds itself once again saddled with a ballooning public sector wage bill. Symbolic perhaps of where we find ourselves is the fact we have the largest cabinet since Independence and a public service which has grown from 17,000+ in the 90s to 21,000 in recent times. Advancement in technology, modern management approaches and the need to encourage entrepreneurism, one would have thought Barbados would see less government and more facilitation strategies. Our current crop of politicians continue to compromise development by resorting to dung-basket strategies.

If the public sector represents a significant share of the workforce, it should logically follows if we are serious about increasing national productivity,  the government must implement a performance management system post haste.  A recent comment by President of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) Walter Maloney suggests he is comfortable with the results of the recent NISE Survey which ranked some public sector departments fairly high. How are we able to assess performance accurately if it is not ‘scientifically’ captured?

Little England has inherited its revered government bureaucracy from the Mother Country which in an earlier world of quotas, preferential tariffs etcetera served us well.   Public Sector reform cannot only be about improving customer service. Civil Servants need to step into the 21st century. Can the relevant government officers explain why e-service/commerce functionality in not available in the technological age despite having spent millions to educate generations of Barbadians?

Last week a report was released in the United Kingdom which recommends   “… senior civil servants, should face a new pay regime that could mean wage cuts of up to 20 per cent for those who under-perform. It also tells ministers to force private companies to disclose more information about their chief executives wages.” While the focus is on improving productivity in the public sector, we cannot forget the importance of doing the same in the private sector. The recent revelation that former President of CLICO Holdings Barbados Leroy Parris earned a whopping $80,000 package makes the issue of equating performance with pay a national priority issue. The report went on to recommend that  “senior public sector staff would have at least 10 per cent of their basic salary withheld each year. The money would only be paid if annual performance targets were met.”

All of this begs the question on the eve of signing Protocol Six of the Social Partnership, shouldn’t Barbados be moving towards a system which embraces meritocracy in pay in the public service and beyond?