Permanent Secretaries have agreed to the introduction of performance pay as part of their compensation package. This was announced earlier today (04 December) by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr Nigel Clarke.
According to Minister Clarke, this is a positive development. “Permanent secretaries being willing to embrace the concept of performance pay definitely means that those are permanent secretaries who have Jamaica’s best interest at heart and are willing to put their compensation on the line for performance,” Minister Clarke emphasised.
The Finance Minister was speaking at the signing ceremony between the Government of Jamaica and international consulting firm Ernst and Young for two contracts for public sector compensation review and the introduction of shared corporate services in some areas of government operations.
For the compensation review project, Minister Clarke noted that the public sector is in need of an equitable and transparent pay and job evaluation system. He emphasised that there are approximately 325 separate salary scales in central government and over 185 allowances.
Under the contract, valued at US$1.6m, the consultants will among other things, undertake a review of GOJ compensation system, which should also indicate the current positioning of GOJ within the Jamaican market; develop a proposal for a pay-for-performance and reward framework; develop a compensation philosophy and policy; and cost and indicate the financial impact of the new compensation structure. The consultants will also develop a single job evaluation tool for the public sector.
The contract for the introduction of Shared Corporate Services is valued at US$5.4m and will enable the implementation of shared services in seven (7) areas of operations namely – Human Resource Management, Finance and Accounts, Procurement, Asset Management, Information and Communication Technology, Internal Audit, Public Relations and Communication.
Both projects will commence in January 2020. The shared corporate services project will last for 24 months while compensation review project will be completed in 18 months.