I F-M M -jSffl\ -*' IE CA9 ONF Vol. 3 This report is for official use only by the Bank Group and specifically authorized organizations or persons. It may not be published, quoted or cited without Bank Group authorization. The Bank Group does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the report. INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION AND PROSPECTS OF JAMAICA (in four volumes) VOLUME III PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Tune A 1071 V.-lentra r111.ult-C CL.I k..ar5UUCLL CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS US$1 = 0.83 Jamaica Dollars (J$) J$l = 1.20 US$ FISCAL YEAR April 1 - March 31 TARTYE OF CONTENTR Page No. T TNTRADTI..TTAM 1 TT nDfAWT7ATTAM VAD DUDCANTTWT AMTMTCTDATTnM TTT TUV CUADVTArV A DDCAMAT'T Li - *AL ,JJJLO.SJ J. I i, J. L............. TIT (ATTOUC A 'FU DDADTDU UdS VF E ALLM L **. ****..............** * IT of "nuaPTYTM XIVAtITT" t O LuerlM Pa-ry AuguSL.Mn ...................... 0 Special Hiring Devices ...................... 9 Training .................................... If Other Corrective Devices .................... 12 VI. EVALUATION .................................. 12 Pay Disparities ............................. 13 Effect of British Precedents ................ 13 Promotion Standards ......................... 17 Training .................................... 18 This report was prepared by Mr. Philip Malone (consultant) who visited Jamaica as a member of the aennnmic minaon in nrtnhPr- November 1970.  I. INTRODUCTION 1. Public administration has become a problem in Jamaica primarily because of the Government's difficulty in getting and keeping qualified personnel, and the implications of that difficulty for economic develop- ment. It will be useful to preface an analysis of this oroblem with an account of the agencies responsible for public personnel management and some of their techniques. II. ORGANIZATION FOR PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION 2-Cntrl norQnnnpl manament in thp novernmant nf Tnmnirn ic divided between the Ministry of Finance and Planning and the Services Com- MiScinnQ_ Of the latter the lracr na Tn m 4et mnv--n"- 4 t h= Pubh14c Service Commission. 3. The Ministry of Finance, through its Establishment Division, each agency or organizational unit, classifies the positions, and sets p rates or ranges for each class. A Tr-aini4ng Dl4 -o4n, attacheda to the Establishment Division, organizes and conducts pre-service and in-service Te Serices Comm os rcU4 t and appoInt empyeesn maI-- Uj O.f* * FL" . O L L Y = , U M promotions and transfers, and select candidates for training. The Public missions, closely linked to it and using the same staff, are responsible 1C_ _ 1 U. T..4-4- l t1 I 2 n- h LuL epUyF.Lyces UL I-um jUUL;a aL42LIUL, ±UL;.L 6VVtLLLLeLL empLUyC, 6LU LA police. The Public Service Commission delegates to the respective Perma- nent cretas eis autoUrity over certain groups of low-ranuig employees, mostly in the weekly-paid category. 5. Classes of positions in the public service are grouped for some the British Civil Service: Administrative Professional and Scientific Technical Executive Clerical, Typing and Miscellaneous Weekly-paid - 2 - The weekly-paid category consists mostly of manual (labor and trades) jobs, but also includes some other beginning-level classes. Each category covers a wide range of types of work as well as of salary levels; nevertheless high-paid positions are most numerous in the first two categories named, and do not exist in the last two. 6. Teachers in the public schools are administered separately. Those in primary and first-cycle secondary schools are under the Ministry of Edu- cation for recruitment, assignment, and fixing of salaries. (There is no "establishment" as such for these teachers. that is. no fixed number and allotment of positions. The number of jobs at each school is determined by a formula based on enrollment.) Other government schools and grant-aided high schools are administered by statutory boards, and their personnel management is decentralizpd to thp hoards. 7. Tqhle 1 shown thp crowth in th numbpr of ntithori7.d nonitinnc in the Central Government over the last four years. (The figure for teachers shonws netIA PMnnVPs! not nAcifionsC1 SinceP the -ttal ninnber of weoely- paid positions for Fiscal Year 1970/71 is not yet available, data for Fiqr;a1 Ypar 1969/7n are also shown. TnllO 1 ATTTHORT7TR PAqTTTONq TM TAMATC.AN CENTRAL GOVERNMENT SERVICE Category 1966/67 1969/70 1970/71 Administrative 369 462 509 Professional and Scientific 840 1,039 1,100 Executive 4,914 5,482 5,792 Technical 3,613 4,204 4,359 Clerical, Typing and Miscellaneous 3,011 4,-3U 4,63/ Weekly Paid o5uDD o,921 n.a. Subtotal 21,602 24,438 n.a. Teachers n.a. n.a. 9,375 Source: Establishment Division, Ministry of Finance and Planning; and Ministry of Education 8. For 1970/71 the total, including teachers, probably exceeds 35,000, not including employees of statutory bodies or of local governments. - 3 - TT r I1T OTTrMA A ^" 'T'n ^1XAT 9. Every Jamaican government agency which was visited during the current survey reported difficulties, often very serious ones, due to the high vacancy rate in their employment. Not enough recruits are being at- tracted into the public service, and present employees in different types of jobs and at all levels of seniority are leaving the Government for other positions in Jamaica or abroad. it is particularly disturbing that many employees with long government service, sometimes with high rank, are join- ing the exodus. Jamaica's retirement system is non-contributory and pro- vides normal retirement at the age of 55 (or, with special authorization, an even earlier age); hence these people are sacrificing an assured life- time income for which they would soon become eligible. Their abandoning the public service shows that service is losing its appeal to a great de- gree. 10. Since the problem of high vacancy rates is so serious and so wide- spread, it is surprising that comprehensive data on it have not been com- piled. The agency most directly concerned, the Public Service Commission, does not have records showing the total number of employees currently on duty. (Tardy and incomplete reports from agencies may be the reason for this omission.) It does make special tabulations of vacancies in selected agencies or classes of positions; such surveys are made when need arises, ordinarily not on the same date from year to year. It is therefore diffi- cult to evaluate trends in the vacancy rate. Table 2 presents figures selected from some of these surveys over the last several years. From these surveys, classes were selected which cover various types of employment; it is uncertain to what extent the conditions shown by these data are typi- cal of the whole public service. I . mt, 0 - 7An(A ITflTC% rn TAA Arn A ITfltrin '-nrrn' SELECTED CLASSES Total Author- ized Positions Vacancies Category ana Clabs 10u may *(u Jan. *oy Jan. 167 Administrative Asst. Undersecretary 42 3 4 3 Principal Asst. Secy. 106 7 11 11 Asst. Secretary 133 14 14 14 Admin. Officer 11 26 3o 3b Professional and Scientific Architect 6 6 4 n.a. Agronomist 7 4 4a/ n.a. Medical Officer 130 13 16- n.a. Statistician 14 2 6 n.a. Technical Air Traffic Controller "BI 33 22 b n.a. Draughtsman Grade i 39 11 11 n.a. Forester 34 1 6 n.a. Staff Nurse 1,324- 4OL n.a. n.a. Executive Chief Labour Officer 11 4 3 n.a. Executive Officer i 140 14 11 n.a. Audit Officer 52 6 12 n.a. Probation Officer 43 7 1 n.a. Clerical, Typing and Misc. Secretary/Stenographer 324 32 10 n.a. Stenographer/Typist 440 112 117 n.a. Clerical Officer I 402 63 53 n.a. Clerical Officer II 514 134 154 n.a. a/ March, 1966 b The Jamaica Nurses Association has reported that "of a total establishment of 1,206 nurses in government-controlled hospitals there were only 579 nurses permanently employed at the end of July last." Daily Gleaner, November 6, 1970. Source: Public Service Commission and Establishment Division, Ministry of Fi- nance and Planning. - 5 - 11. Many Jamaican officials believe that the shortaze of personnel is becoming worse, but the data in Table 2 do not entirely support this view. Table 3 is a senarate tabulation, over a longer period, of the vacancies in three large entrance-level classes in the Executive and Clerical cate- aories. For this level of work. at least. the nersonnel nrnblem seems to have been for several years about as serious as it is today. Table 3: NUMBER OF VACANCIES IN SELECTED RECRUITMENT CLASSES GOVERNMENT OF JAMAICA- 1964-1970 Clerical Officer II Executive Assistant Stenographer/Typist Wat'nhl4ahoA Un,cqn- EatnhlichoA Unr!n_ Re t14shed Vanza. Date Posts cies Posts cies Posts cies July 1964 426 86 160 48 244 73 1966 70 50 62 10rA7 74 CZr7 r- dJI IJ a f UJ 1968 100 65 65 17U7 IVWJ IJ U-t Nov. 1970 514 114 113 50 440 75 oUULC 17URt UaLt afLUm [HIILLU, B*L. 0L. * , bLUUJems UoI tUWJAHAL.L LULU in an Emergent Nation: A Case Study of Jamaica, New York: Praeger, 1Vo+. Uher 'ata fLLU rou bl LV±Gc SerUvmlUe anu CLoLaULLozun0L Division, Ministry of Finance and Planning. 12. From these tables it can be inferred that the Government of Jamaica has a dangerously high vacancy rate in many classes of employment; that this problem is of long standing and may even be getting worse for some, but not all, types of jobs. No vacancy data were available on week- ly-paid jobs; informed officials say that the problem is somewhat less serious in hat category. 13. This lack of personnel has a powerful effect, both direct and in- direct, on the formulation and execution of development plans. Many opera- ting agencies are short of the professional and technical employees who should be preparing broad plans and programs, formulating specific projects, and making the corresponding annual budgets; and central staft agencies (especially in the Central Planning Unit) are hindered from guiding and as- sisting the operating agencies in these tasks as well as from properly re- viewing and coordinating the plans, projects, and budgets which are sub- mitted. Likewise, in project execution, operating agencies are short of staff to carry out the work (or to inspect and oversee contract work) and central agencies are obstructed in reviewing the project and making neces- sary audits. The indirect effects of personnel shortages on development, which are probably obvious, are almost equally harmful. (Lack of typists and clerks to do the necessary paper work can block an undertaking almost as completely as lack of professional and technical staff.) -6- 14. T'his personnel problem. _affects the content of development plans, as well as their preparation and execution, since, in planning and evaluat- Schools and hospitals, for example, should be planned and evaluated with c.J*osideratioSJn of exitin ando f.kl *~ Loeseale shCortl ages of teacher, n,urses, and medical technicians. 15. It should be emphasized that there is no inconsistency between tne u-*gl unemplouymut te in Jamaica anu Lue £aLL Luan Luee ouveauuL ne such difficulty in getting and keeping competent people. The unemployment rate is swelleu uy a great numbver u potential workers witu no speciaizeu skills and with little or no education. The Government's personnel problem, on tme contrary, centers on employees whose dutes require, as a Dare mini- mum, completion of both cycles of secondary school, usually supplemented Dy higher education, specialized training, or both. The widespread unem- ployment in Jamaica does not affect such workers. IV. CAUbh U THE PBKULM 16. In the first place, two underlying conditions reduce the labor supply of all Jamaica. They therefore affect the Government because as an employer (in fact, the one biggest employer) it is part of that market. 17. One is the fact that the output of Jamaican schools is inadequate in both quantity and quality. The problem of quality of education, which is difficult to measure objectively, is particularly serious in primary schools, where it stems from shortage of classrooms, weak entorcement of attendance requirements, and the difficulty of recruiting and retaining trained teachers, especially in rural schools. The insufficient number of persons coming out of schools is especially notable at the secondary level. Enrollment in second-cycle secondary schools in Jamaica has been estimated at less than 10 percent of the appropriate age group. Trinidad, with less than half the population of Jamaica, annually awards more GCE "A" certifi- cates than Jamaica. (The GCE "A" certificate is granted, after examination, to students who have completed four years of second-cycle secondary studies, equivalent to grade 13, with the intention of going on to a university. Since the examinations are prepared and controlled in the United Kingdom, they presumably allow impartial comparison between Trinidad and Jamaica.) 18. The second underlying problem of the Jamaican labor market is the heavy emigration of specialized and skilled workers to other countries. This migration, principally to the United States and Canada, draws migrants from an already scanty supply of Jamaicans possessing professional, tech- nical, and other skills. In conjunction with work permit laws, described below, it creates an exaggerated demand for Jamaican workers in certain occupations. It should be mentioned that Jamaica benefits somewhat from a reverse "brain drain" from the smaller West Indian islands, especially -7- among persnus wuo nave attenued mhe University uf tne Wewst Indies at Kingston and stay in Jamaica after graduating instead of returning to the even 'ower salaries aHU LeWeL ULUan anHLeitis UL tiL Iome is.LadU. 9. Apart from these general conditions, there are of course reasons why the Government as an employer is at a disadvantage even within Jamaica. Salary Disparities 20. Nearly all observers agree that the principal reason why the public service has difficulty in filling jobs and even in keeping good present employees is its low pay rates, in comparison with local private business and with the more autonomous of its statutory bodies. 21. In most countries the private sector pays better salaries than the Government, at least to professional and high-ranking administrative employees, but sometimes to personnel of lower grades also. What makes the situation in Jamaica special is the unusually large gap. This gap seems to be increasing with the expansion of the private sector, as more and more potential employers come into competition for the limited number of Jamaican workers. 1/ The survey on which this report is based did not include a pay study; therefore no figures can be presented to show the extent of salary disparities. As one index, however, Jamaican officials have mentioned two or three newly graduated young Jamaican professionals to whom the Government could offer only about $3,000 per year, while pri- vate firms were glad to hire them at twice that salary. 22. Formerly, although the Government's salaries were already below private ones, its more liberal fringe benefits helped redress the balance. Nowadays, however, private firms are about as generous as the Government in this respect. They are said to be matching even the Government's liberal retirement policies, and to have attracted some longtime govern- ment employees by offering them a retirement credit at least equal to the one they would be giving up. 23. It is also possible that the work permit law, which effectively forbids bringing foreign employees into any job if a qualified Jamaican is available, is aggravating the salary disparity. It puts a premium on the labor-market value of Jamaicans who possess a particular professional 1/ Until the 1950's, most private businesses in Jamaica were essentially family enterprises. Top jobs were usually reserved for members of the family. An ambitious man was unlikely to stay long in such a firm; he was attracted more by the merit promotion policies of the civil service. In today's corporate businesses, top jobs are seldom out of the reach of an able and aspiring employee, and it is the Government's slow pro- motions and exaggerated consideration for seniority which deter the ambitious young man. -8- or specialized qualification, and thus leads private employers to offer disproportionately high pay which the Government is precluded from matching. (The private firms' alternative is to request a work permit for a foreign employee, a slow process with no assurance of final success. Furthermore, since it is harder to renew work permits than to get them issued originally, the firms might have to face the same problem again after a few years.) 24. References in this section have been to competition from private business. However, the Central Government also encounters serious competi- tion, and even some pirating of employees, by those statutory bodies and other quasi-governmental entities which do not rely on the Consolidated Fund for most of their financing, and which therefore are not obliged to pay in line with the Civil Service. V. CORRECTIVE MEASURES 25. The first step in correcting governmental salary inequities should he a nonition n1anqqfination and nav survev. The Government of Jamaina haq begun such a survey to be conducted by Jamaican public employees with train- iny nr anidnnt-P f-rnnm rnCnndinn tenm nrn41Pr1 thiroAh CTDA- The full ztudv will probably take three years. One of its end products will presumably be a recommended ^nm n any nlnn ,v oat nf nay nlns which vll be externally as well as internally equitable for all classes of public employ- can take effect. Interim Pay Adjustment 26. To meet the need for pay adjustments during this three-year in- in October 1970, with retroactive effect to the preceding April.) This au J U~ L I L C L i n tL = L L t: L ,1 _ L,L_ L a. C C ~ i y L L .U L A U Z . L V J O L .#I . W . L L h L .I. bigger percentages going to the higher present pay rates; the intention is to give an iLU -U--L-U Vof. &UUUL 4.J PULt~.;L ULL Ltaxes: LV clL.I. t21.V=b 1:1aLLY modifications are also made in individual pay rates and ranges. The in- crease is being spread over the three-year period, with approximately equal increments in each of the three years. Comparable pay increases are also being given to teachers, employees U local goverUnments UnU U the juUiUcary, and the Jamaica Defence Force, as well as to personnel of those statutory Doies which base their pay levels on those or tne Centra± GOverument. 27. This pay increase will be, at least in total dollar amount, by far the biggest which the Government of Jamaica has ever granted. Each of the three annual increments, tentatively estimated at between $8 and $9 million each, will be greater than the total increase in personal emolu- ments resulting from pay adjustments in any previous year's budget. Never- theless, it appears to be fully understood and accepted that further in- creases, conceivably quite substantial ones, are probable after the pay survey is concluded. - 9- 28. Table 4 lists the base salaries of various positions and classes, before the pay increase and also after it becomes fully effective. Most of the classes listed are the same ones used in Table 2 to illustrate vacancy rates, but Table 4 also includes a few additional positions of very high rank for purposes of information. For classes which carry salary ranges, only minimum and maximum rates are shown. Allowances and other fringe benefits are not included except for the Governor-General's duty allow- ance. 29. Since the pay increase has just gone into effect, it is too early to judge how far it will improve the Government's competitive hiring posi- tion and the public employees' morale. Preliminary indications suggest that the first increment is not having much effect of this kind. Many em- ployees had hoped that the Government would give a first increment of at least 60 percent of the total increase, and were disappointed by the plan that was adopted. Special Hiring Devices 30. When a vacant position cannot immediately be filled by a regular appointment or promotion, the Government tries to make a temporary appoint- ment. Whenever possible, these temporary "avointments" are actually pro- motions, usually but not invariably based on seniority; thus, a vacancy at a hiah level may cause a whole chain of temporary promotions, extending down to a much lower level. An employee temporarily promoted has a good chance (not a certainty) that the promotion will later be made permanent. Many employees so promoted do not meet the formal qualification standards for the higher class: the standards can legally be waived in these circum- stances, but some observers fear that if this procedure is applied too often. it can lead to a dilution of comnetence in the middle and upper levels of the civil service. 31. Temporary substitute appointments from outside the public service, as distinguished from nromotions- are used motlv for nrnfaQQonal noi- tions such as Medical Officer (temporary hiring for these jobs must usually be by nntrart- with more favorhle rnndition thnn fnr mnlmv4pd amnlAy- ment) and sometimes for entrance-level classes. 32. The Jamaican Government is making considerable efforts to attract back Jama4tcz with rofessInalr!2 v o r-ecn4cal qualIIaIn WholveI other countries, to work in the public service. It offers them special in- dueet an trie to ensure tha the are assigned..~ to approp r4ate and congenial jobs. Occasionally, Jamaicans abroad who have particularly provision for a bonus and return to the country of former residence upon . n least one government personne agency f1ne Personnel Development Unit, under the Training Division in the Ministry of rinance;% systemuaclJly advises Jamaicans overseas 01 JUU UppoL LULLL.Lb In private employment and in the statutory boards, as well as in the civil service. - 10 - Table 4: SALARIES OF SELECTED POSITIONS AND CLASSES BEFORE AND AFTER INCREASE GOVERNMENT OF JAMAICA (in Jamaican Dollars) Position or Category Salary Rate or Range and Class 1969/70 1972/73 a/ Governor-General $17,000-' n.a. Prime Minister 12,000 n.a. Minister of Finance and Planning 6,500 n.a. Other Minister 6,000 n.a. Administrative Financial Secretary $6,800 $10,200 Permanent Secretary 6,000 9,000 Asst. Undersecretary 5,000 6,756 Principal Asst. Secretary 4,600 5,986 Assistant Secretary $3,300-3,900 $4,o56-5,o76 Administrative Officer 1,900-2,900 2,412-3,624 Professional and Scientific Architect $2,400-4,500 $2,916-5,656 Agronomist hi 2,000-4,300 2,520-5,592 Medical Officer-' 3,000-5,000 4,oo6-6,756 Statistician 2,000-3,000 2,520-3,972 Technical Air Traffic Controller "B" $1,320-2,bOO $1,960-4,200 Draughtsman Grade I 1,560-1,960 1,b72-2,44b Forester 1,000-1,960 1,320-2,448 Staff Nurse 1,200-1,OO 1,60-2,256 Executive Chief Labour Officer $2,600-3,100 $3,312-4,032 Executive Officer I 2,400-2,700 2.916-3.372 Audit Officer 1,740-2,700 2,146-3,504 Probation Officer 1.6b0-2.300 1.992-2.60 Clerical. Tvoing and Miscellaneous Secretary/Stenographer $1,680-2,040 $1,992-2,556 StenngrnnhPr/Tvni st 1_o-._6o 1. 368-1.9q6 Clerical Officer I 1,420-1,760 1,600-2,232 nin Ci offin.r TT 940-1_200 1-272-1-;6o a/ Includes "Waty Allowance" of P,uuu b/ Without private practice Source: Estimates 1970/71 and Establishment Division, Ministry of Finance and Planning. - 11 - 33. Contracts are also generally used to hire foreign nationals. Such hiring is usually done through the Ministry of Overseas Development of the United Kingdom, generally for a three-year term, under an established scheme of that Ministry for providing technical assistance in areas of scarce skills. The two Governments share the salaries and other costs of such persons. Jamaica occasionally hires other foreign nationals, mostly from other West Indian islands, either under contract or as regular employees. (Jamaican public servants need not be Jamaican citizens.) Training 34. The Government is making vigorous efforts, through pre-service and in-service training, to qualify present and prospective public employees for its positions. Two agencies share the responsibility for major training programs. As was explained above, the Training Division of the Ministry of Finance and Planning organizes, and when necessary, conducts training programs, while the Public Service Commission selects trainees and sees to their pro- motion or reassignment thereafter, so that they can use the results of the training. There is frequent contact between officials of the two agencies. 35. The 1970/71 budget appropriated $660,000 for scholarships and other training schemes. The Training Division is usine the money for three kinds of programs: a. Providing professional training through scholarships to universities in Jamaica and overseas. in fields where there is a shortage. These courses last several years. About 50 percent of the training budget will be used for this purpose. b. Improving the skills of present employees and bringing theIrknow ~oc,~f ~~4 r~ "t' l-rf%11CYh courses in Jamaica or overseas lasting from three to nine months. ThPAP rmurPAm An nnt lead to deores or to pro- fessional or technical qualifications. Some 35 percent of rho tvAinin butdapt wil1 hp nicat fn-r thic rmurne%aa C. Loc,al in-serice t'rnin programs l asting a few., weeks.a Courses are full-time and are taught by both government of44ala and nta4Aae (W- ovamnln TTATMD -,-a4AoA nA coordinator-chief instructor for a recent four-week manage- ment imp"rMflement course. -__ A.4- k---~a4 -1, 4---445 budget will be used for these courses. 36. Besides these centrally administered courses, many ministries and sion, on request, helps them plan their programs and occasionally also staff, UUL fL La LLat1LU.LacPliU Uti es.& L staff and facilities. - 12 - 37. The Training Division is now setting up a training center; it has just moved into temporary quarters and is requesting UN assistance to acquire and equip a permanent center for use in training all government officials and employees, particularly those of the middle level. Plans for staffing the new center are still preliminary. 38. A major problem in governmental training programs is that persons who have been trained at government expense are often hired away by more liberal offers from private business, or sometimes even from statutory boards. Also, some persons who have had scholarships at foreign universi- ties remain in the country where they have been studying (especially in the United States) instead of returning to Jamaica. The Jamaican Government has adopted the policy of treating its full expenses for scholarship training as a personal obligation of the trainee. The obligation is canceled after he has worked for the Government for five years following completion of his scholarship proaram: if he fails to enter the public service or leaves it before five years are up, he is liable for repayment of the whole sum. Even this severe measure, however, has not stopped the outflow of personnel. Many private firms have been happy to pay off the full guaranty of a govern- ment employee, as a sort of bonus, besides offering him higher Pay and more generous fringe benefits than the Government provides. Other Corrective Devices 39. The desire to escape from civil service pay ceilings, and from the recruitment difficulties they imnose. has been one reason for the crea- tion of statutory bodies in recent years, particularly when the activity wa. formerly rqrried out hv a minintrv and when most of the former civil service personnel are transferred to a new autonomous agency. 40. Most officials recognize that "frustrations" caused by sometimes cumbersnm nrnopAura Arp tnl 1ntrn1 rpnqnn for high turnover and diffi- cult recruitment. However, few specific attempts have been made to elimi- naqt- 1-hoir i-nilcoc- Mannx nf fha "fri-rntr,innclcpp ton ho linkedt ton administrative and organizational practices which are deep-rooted and sometimes traditional. it is true that such practices cannot beIhage lightly. Some of these practices and their effects are discussed in the VI. EVALUATION L1. I1e ev'u ece s[tUWL LAL Lse tUVELrnHtL ULf Jamalcd '4 LUL many years had a serious personnel shortage, worse than would normally be ex- pected in any public Service, principa1Ly Uecause pay rates LI private business are much higher than those in Government. Besides pay inequities, other conditions have Lea to employee dissatisfaction and thus nave fUrner weakened the Government's competitive position in the labor market. - 13 - Pay Disparities 42. The Government is now undertaking a position classification and pay survey, with technical assistance from the Federal Public Service of Canada, so as to find out objectively where pay disparities exist and how great they are. Apparently, the Government is prepared to take the corrective action which the survey reveals as necessary. To allay the impatience of its employees until the survey can be completed, it has granted a generous pay increase as an interim measure. 43. There is room for debate about the structure of this pay increase (biggest relative increases to the employees who are already highest paid), as well as its scheduling (equal increments in three consecutive years). But such debate at this time would be academic; the pay increase is already in effect, neither its overall structure nor its scheduling could be changed without formidable difficulty, and, most important of all, it is recognized as an interim measure, not a definitive one. Thus any inequities and ir- regularities that may exist are not frozen into the plan, but can be cor- rected on the basis of the survey. 44. The survey staff is studying fringe benefits as well as basic salaries and wages, so that the plan it proposes can include integrated recommendations on both forms of compensation. It should be made clear to public employees that pay recommendations for jobs of the top level will perhaps not match what the private sector is paying for comparable jobs (to the extent that comparable jobs can be identified). As was pointed out above, few public services in the world try to match private rates for such positions. 45. There is nothing further in particular that Jamaica should do about its pay plan just now, except the negative act of avoiding major changes in it while the survey work is RoinR on. Possible pressure for additional interim pay adjustments should be resisted, at least for all jobs included in the survev. Effect of British Precedents 46. The Government of Jamaica has followed British precedents in many ways in designing its administration. This was reasonable, first, because the former colonial administration had already familiarized oublic servants and the public in general with the British system; second and more important, because Jamaica had become convinced of the many virtues of British public administration and judged that the model deserved to be copied. 47. On the other hand, the British system of public administration has evolved- over centuries of aractice and nometimpq of trial and prrnr$ in response to the particular needs and qualities of the British people, and in nt411 underonina rhanop and Pvnlution. TAkp all ndminiatrativ systems, it actually operates somewhat differently from what is said in lus- tbexltbn frnd th ie urnlei drpntin in tthih ereopnc iot must be learned from the inside, in London, and is therefore known only at second hand by most Jamaicans.* For these reasons, itis always possible - 14 - in a particular case that the British model is not the best one for Jamaica to follow, or that Jamaica has followed the form rather than the substance of the original. 48. This observation is relevant because British administrative prac- tices seem to be at the root of some of the frustrations and dissatisfac- tions which are impairing morale in the public service. Three examples are discussed below; another, of broader implications, is taken up in paragraph 66. 49. Political-Administrative Relationships. In the British adminis- trative tradition. nolitical officials (ministers- narliamentary secretar- ies, and the like), as representatives of the Cabinet and Parliament, deter- mine noliciP; admini.trative (civil service) nffirils are ful1v renonible for carrying out those policies. Long institutional experience has created -rapAntc Lyhiph raiulAtp thp dtnilc nf thic t1---nfivTPy c-mnl cpnn-rntin of responsibilities, including most notably the definition of the word "pol- should take a particular decision, especially when a newly appointed or a 50. in jamaica the ex-erienc a the precedents are largely, lacking. Under British colonial government the meshing of the political-administra- tive gears took place in London; Jamaican civl~ sen-r-nt- even senIor ones, were hardly aware of its occurrence, much less of its nature. During most of that ---r4A, In fact, the civil se -74C- not -n., l- 4,,,nnq41 nl-(4-^- its British heads almost inevitably supported the official policies of the ministrative officials were also members of the Legislative Council). n~OUIOL~Q L U.L t-L.IdL J.L..AOL \AC . e i laorsL/ L&aA noL reall po~we. M COay wf1 L&LAL thought it a sort of patriotic duty to criticize and harass the administra- L.LU LL CV=Ly Way d UbLUAC, LLL UL.LML WULUb, LU LULLnULA LL& UPPULL.ULL LU LLL administration, not in teamwork with it. 51. The gradual increase in Jamaican autonomy, culminating in inde- pendence in 1962, placed further strains on the British model as it applied to Jamaica. "Policy," a highly subjective word, has a different meaning in a country with small population and area, lKe Jamaica, from its meaning in the United Kingdom; it was logical that it should be left to the govern- ment in power - that is, to the minister - to decide that meaning in each individual case. Thus ministers determined the scope of their own authority. 52. There are, therefore, unresolved doubts about which decisions should be taken by political officials and which by administrative offi- cials. Hence the opinion, held by many civil servants, that the politi- cians are encroaching on the prerogative of the administrative corps, and the resultant dissatisfaction which was noted above. - 15 - . As time goes on, Jamaica wi1 arrive at its own aerinition or tne respective responsibilities of political and administrative authorities - a definition which will presumably be quite different from the British original. The new pattern will probably confirm and expand the ministers' authority over how their ministries work as well as over what they do, and will perhaps provide for additional political positions (not necessarily held by Members of Parliament) in the ministries. What may well develop, in other words, is a pattern of political-administrative relationships somewhat like that in the United States. Whether the new pattern takes this form or a different one, it will become clearly enough to be understood within a short time so that ambiguities about areas of responsibility will no longer be a motive for dissatisfaction in the public service. 54. While it is suggested here that the evolutionary change described will probably occur, this is not to say that any agency outside Jamaica can or should try to accelerate the change. The change that is predicted is close to the fundamentals of the Jamaican polity. For that reason it can be initiated only within the Government itself, and probably only in re- sponse to internal strains and pressures even stronger than those of today. 55. Divided Authority for Personnel Management. The splitting of personnel administration between the Ministry of Finance and the Services Commissions, as described above, leads to a certain amount of delay and waste motion. Some personnel actions require action by both agencies, a process that is slow in itself and also multiplies the time that papers spend in transit. In addition, it causes some duplication of records and functions, and is therefore uneconomical. Even with optimum coordination between the two agencies, these disadvantages cannot be entirely avoided. 56. The obvious solution would be to assign all personnel administra- tion to a single agency. 1/ In recent years the United Kingdom itself, from which Jamaica derived its present system. has gone far in this direction. So have some other countries which had followed the United Kingdom model, including Canada and Guyana. However, such a consolidation would have to be studied and evaluated carefully in the light of actual conditions in Jamaica. 57. If the Ministry of Finance were made responsible for all personnel administration, the central staff and auxiliary services of Government would be brought together under a single ministry, an arrangement which has many advantages for efficiency as well as for orderly organization. Also, by 1/ This report will not discuss the present practice by which personnel admin4atratinn fnr tparhpra in manarnted frnm that nf nthpr ntihlir employees and done entirely by the Ministry of Education or by atatutnry hndia attarhad tn it. - 16 - bringing the function of personnel management into an agency directly re- QnnnQihlP to thp Plprftd onuprnmAnt- there would he a gAqnty that that function would be performed so as to support all programs in the Govern- ment-'s devePnment nnn- 58n the othe-r hannd, sch aq chnaeicoul cratoeseiia Angr of bringing too much politics into the civil service. For this reason, the Civil Servilce Association and other a=ployee organizatio4nsav,, Ann~~, resist the change implacably, with a consequent risk of strikes or other loaded with administrative responsibilities and problems are arising in its rlat~nsh± wit other ministries , a situation which is dIscussed i the last chapter. Adding another such responsibility to it might be im- C^. "1 Lue Services 'omuissions were maue respousible for all persou- nel administration, perhaps after some reorganization providing full or partial unification or tnese commissions, the work would be done impartial- ly, with detachment from considerations of party politics, and in circum- stancs fadVUL1ig Lchical ueL hUsUb , such a sheme wUuld Uouc to professionalization of personnel administration in Jamaica. This change was recommenaea as iong ago as early 19eD by Lne unitea IaL.OuS 1ecnn.caL Assistance Mission in its report, Public Administration in Jamaica. Nothing that has happened since then would weaken the arguments in that report. o0. On the other hand, such an agency might lack a sense or urgency. Even today the ministries have a tendency to think of the Public Service Commission as being somewhat detached from the whole governmental process. If the Commission had broader functions and heightened prestige, it could come to be regarded rather as a phenomenon of nature than as an active cooperating part of a government dedicated to getting things accomplished. The Public Service Commission does not now even keep comprehensive records covering the Government's gravest personnel problem, the shortage of quali- tied employees; it is doubtful whether giving additional related responsi- bilities to that agency would be the best way of solving the problem. 61. It is suggested that Jamaica should give some thought to creating a new unified personnel agency, not subordinated to a line ministry but not so rigorously insulated from the elected government as are the present Ser- vices Commissions. In studying this possibility, Jamaica should not be influenced by the British organization except to the same extent as by the methods of several other governments; Jamaica's own needs and conditions should be its foremost consideration. 62. Use of "Categories". In Jamaica, as in Britain, civil service positions are grouped administratively into the "categories" which were - 17 - mentioned above. 1/ In the British service traditionally, each category waR largely Rplf-nntained. In other words most PmnloveP in the admin- istrative category had been recruited directly to its lower grades (gener- nlly freim the t-wn arpnt uinvritiP.) and had not nrvinnly servPd in another category. This condition also held true, not quite to the same extent fnr the other cenories There wa a cniderahl difference in prestige among the categories. 63. Whether this somewhat undemocratic system is well adapted to cause the Jamaican public service has for years had diffi,ulty in recruit- LL Wi. L.LL UE U La.~CUt. u%..6u.L..o LJ .LLC ~V...L VC%L L%L CO As a result, in Jamaica, vacancies in the lower grades of some categories other categories more often than by original appointment. 64. Thus the original reason for the categories seems to have largely uisappeareu. Uertain categuries, however, retaiu mucn prestige, anu tneir existence affects morale. For example, one of the present grievances of the nurses is the Government's persistence in considering their work as "technical" whereas that of druggists and laboratory technicians is cate- gorized as "professional.1 in brief, the categories as now constituted seem to be doing no particular good and some harm. It is uncertain whether the classification and pay survey is now expected to include recommendations on this matter. The survey staff should be officially asked to do so, in harmony with the general scheme of classification they propose. Promotion Standards 66. Length of service in the lower grade is not the sole criterion for promotion in the Jamaican public service, but is given much weight. This practice discourages potential candidates for jobs and junior employ- ees, especially since promotions usually depend on a vacancy in an estab- lished higher position. In private business, on the other hand, rigid tables of organization seldom exist, and public employees believe that seniority is less important there. Thus a young man with confidence in his own ability can expect not only to start with higher pay in the private sector but to advance faster. 67. The overweighting of seniority not only discourages able young people, but can bring mediocre people into positions of medium or high rank. It is not far-fetched to suspect that the insufficient delegation 1/ Tn tho r4f4ah o-riea thioca evPsa" e a lleA "cases." Th4S is not the meaning which is generally given to "class" in public personnel ad4-4 atgoens Tou 4h o.nun, this report use 4p T-4 - word "categories" throughout. - 18 - of authority in the Jamaican administration (which also impairs morale) may be nartly due to the unwillineness of ministers and permanent secretaries to give their subordinates responsibilities beyond their abilities. 68. It would be desirable for appropriate officials to study possible wnva of making nrnmntinns mnre selectivve than at nresent. Ruch as nrn- motional examinations and more interagency promotions. The classification survo vaill nvoainahly rnniior brnnonina the r1ncl rnnrPntR nnd nc result, partly or completely eliminating jobs carrying a flat salary rate or a very short pay range. These measures would ease pressu,re byinres ing the possibility of within-grade pay increases for employees ineligible fr- promotio n _-d- 1by-.., ,4-fr the n11mb-hof -en t or ral dera-n-nA 4 nikc 40. T A. L. 8L A A A.-F i.i - a this.L tAime to e. vaa. te tr LA.a ning. in th T--LLJ ... public service because the Government is now expanding and modifying its I.I.d~ILL~ JLLJras . LL _lp.L~AJ L L _~L LLLL i- L " OAL aL. iLU IL ld b fostered and encouraged. Some persons already speak of the projected in Jamaica, but calls for a good deal of planning. Advisers from UNDP if UNDP aid cannot be obtained for the training center program, the activ- .LLy s impULaLL enUUgl LV UCOULVC .LCr dPLULL Z3, J-A. &LL&%%Z" LL L=CZ)- sary from the Consolidated Fund, and part of this money ought to be spent on fore±~i techil±d ass iace, not neciesail±y fromII LIIe United~ LLL6UUVI./ 70. Staffing the training center will be a problem. It wll be necessary to resist the temptation to rely heavily on recent graduates of the center itself for this purpose. One possible source would be retired senior civil servants; special legislation might be necessary to p,.nit hiring these people under conditions acceptable to them. 71. Some thought should be given to the distribution or budgetary resources among the different kinds of training. At present about 50 per- cent of training funds is used for protessional training in multi-year university courses. This weighting is justified only if the great majority of persons so trained are entering the public service to practice their professions there for several years. If in fact any large number of them are failing to return to Jamaica after completing their studies, or are "buying out" by paying off their guaranties in cash before they have com- pleted five years' service, a strong argument will exist for de-emphasizing such professional training in favor of other types of instruction primarily applicable to the public service. For the same reason, there should be reconsideration of the role of the Personnel Development Unit in recruiting Jamaicans overseas for jobs in the private sector and the statutory bodies as well as for the civil service. The question is not whether this work should be done at all, but whether it should be done by a Training Division which ought to be concerned primarily if not exclusively with the personnel needs of the Central Government.