From this month, new public service employees will be paid after their first month of employment after years of having to wait three months to “make it on to the payroll.”
Speaking at her first press conference, Minister of Public Service Tabitha Sarabo-Halley announced the new policy, while referring to the previous practice as “unconscionable.”
“Many public servants have reiterated the issue of having to work for three months before being paid. I have thus far found no rule or policy that substantiates this. I find this practice unconscionable and thus should no longer be a practice in any government agency after the month of July,” Sarabo-Halley announced.
She explained that the staff of the Public Service Department are currently working to “remove this bugbear from those who are desirous of joining the public service [so that] no one should have to wait beyond one month of being hired to receive their first salary.”
According to the Minister, the department’s research has been unable to locate the source of the practice or any guidelines which govern its implementation.
The new policy is likely to be welcomed by the hundreds of prospective recruits who are set to respond to nearly 500 advertised vacancies in the public service.
