By: Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Monday 29th March 2021) — Government Chief Personnel Officer Sheridane Warner is being cited as informing public servants holding bachelor’s degrees that their expectations to be automatically paid for their certification will not be granted by the state as an employer. The revelation was made in a government circular dated March 22, 2021, signed by CPO Warner and addressed to a number of senior managers in the public service.
The circular admonishes public servants holding a bachelor’s degree but not yet working in a position that pays at graduate level, that the public service will not automatically recognize their graduate status and pay them as graduates. Warner is seen stating that while the Human Resource Management Department congratulates the success of the workers, the degree earned is seen only as the “personal development” of the individual. The communiqué states that “unless they can be accommodated in a position in a degree scale, they will not be compensated for the degree.”
A former permanent secretary and public service reform specialist, consulted by this publication, outlined that while the CPO is correct in her understanding of the rules, the circular was deficient in advising public servants of basic information — notably that graduate level positions in the service start at pay scale K33 ($4,495 per month). The specialist also noted the irony that there are public servants who have been appointed to ranks higher than K33 without holding degrees, and that there have been no published vacancies in the public service for some time, leaving degree holders unable to compete for graduate positions in practice.
The St. Kitts-Nevis Trades and Labour Union, which owns this newspaper, advises public servants to become more active in knowing their workplace rights and responsibilities, and to engage their employer through the human resource office for more information on their rights.