Dear Editor,
There has been the impetuous, indeed illegal, decision to confirm the Acting incumbent in the Permanent position of Commissioner Of Police despite the fact that this Public Servant had already bypassed the official Retirement Age of 55 years – established since the colonial era, since when absolutely no attempt has ever been made to revise such a condition of employment by any Independent (?) Government. It does not appear what consideration, if any, has been given to implications of related ineligibilities to which other qualified Public Servants can aspire; and indeed future governments could replicate (more so without supportive Cabinet decision-making!).
Records would show samples of Public Officers who benefit from an official Retirement Age of sixty, indeed for decades now, at:
– Guyana Revenue Authority
– Office of the Auditor General
– National Insurance Scheme
Other comparable Government Employers include the following examples:
– Guyana Water Inc.
– Guyana School of Agriculture
– Guyana National Shipping
Corporation
– Guyana Geology and Mines
Commission
Notably Guyana Power and Light, originally owned by a Canadian Company since the Colonial days, observe a retirement age of 65 years. (In contrast Public Servants and Teachers would normally retire at age 55).
PUBLIC SERVICE – Retirement Age – 55 years. No formality appears to obtain currently regarding Medical Certification of – Fitness for: Recruitment/Promotion of monthly paid Public Servants. In any case over recent decades the preference appears to be for – Contracted Employees. Contracted Employees while not eligible for Retirement, benefit from the more immediate financial award of gratuity guaranteed every six months at 22.5% of basic salary – an accumulation of 90% every two years of employment.
It needs to be clarified however whether this category of employee benefits automatically from substantive increases awarded their pensionable counterparts (Is there a possible case of breach of Contract?) Meanwhile it is presumed that both groups of ‘Servants’ enjoy the same leave benefits, including Maternity Leave; except of course ‘Pre-Retirement Leave’? Hopefully ‘Employees’ are contracted in the same Categories of skills occupied by monthly paid public servants.
Sincerely,
EB John
