As Barbados and the rest of the world continue to grapple with the current economic downturn, Government is working assiduously to maintain employment levels within the public sector as well as to utilise its human resources as efficiently as possible.
This was stressed today by Parliamentary Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, Senator Harry Husbands, who noted that "despite the current economic hardship and critical financial situation, it was Government’s policy not to lay off staff within the public sector".
He was speaking at the opening ceremony of a five-day Manpower Audit and Business Process Improvement seminar for public servants at Almond Bay, Hastings, Christ Church.????
Senator Husbands told those gathered that one of the strategies employed by government to maintain employment was the rationalisation of posts within the public sector.?? He said: "This strategy seeks to ensure that posts provided to public sector organisations are used for the purposes intended, and that persons who occupy such posts are being utilised efficiently and effectively."
He added that more specifically this process was aimed at determining if the human resources assigned to the various ministries, departments and agencies were fully utilised and appropriately allocated; and whether the staff components were adequate to carry out the mandate of the various organisations.
The Parliamentary Secretary stressed that the underlying principle behind this strategy was to utilise human resources more efficiently and improve performance and productivity within the service.
Pointing out that another critical intervention was the elimination of wastage, Senator Husbands revealed that particular focus was being placed on the removal of extravagance as it related to expenditure and the management of affairs within governable limits.??????????????????
"… Government is extremely conscious of the need to control its expenditure, especially now in the context of this turbulent financial and economic situation," he stated.
The government official, while underlining the importance of the workshop, noted that it would enhance the skills of the officers in the Office of Public Sector Reform.??????????