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Minister of Finance and the Public Service Dr Nigel Clarke addressing the House of Representatives on Tuesday. (Photo: JIS)
OUTGOING Minister of Finance and the Public Service Dr Nigel Clarke has warned that unless Government ministries, departments, and agencies control the number of overtime hours worked by their employees, the country could find itself it deep fiscal problems.
Clarke, who was delivering one of his final contributions in Parliament before he leaves to take up at a position at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the end of this month, pointed to changes in the compensation arrangements in the public sector which he argued will make control of overtime more critical.
“If ministries and agencies don’t manage their human resources in a way and keep within budgetary limits, we can have a major problem,” warned Clarke, while responding to questions during a sitting of the Standing Finance Committee of Parliament on Tuesday.
The committee was examining the Supplementary Estimates for the 2024/25 fiscal year which provides for an increase in total government expenditure and payments by approximately $40.7 billion, increasing the budget for the year to $1.38 trillion.
The revised Budget includes an additional $11.6 billion, primarily due to higher than originally included third year costs for the implementation of the restructured public sector compensation system.
Clarke pointed out that the last elements of the restructuring of compensation exercise have been completed but there are ongoing conditions of service to be discussed including the overtime regime in the health sector.
He told the Standing Finance Committee that, “We are moving from a dispensation where people got allowances for overtime regardless of whether they worked overtime or not. Eventually Jamaicans came together and said that’s not fair…and it isn’t, that if I work 10 extra hours I get the same pay as you if you work zero extra hours, or you work 20 extra hours.
“We have moved away from that system to one where you get paid for the hours that you work. Generally speaking, that is what we have moved to in the public service, we have moved to in the police force, and we are trying to move in other areas as well, and that is the recommended and modern practice,” said Clarke.
“But if that is not accompanied by management of the human resources, those numbers can get out of hand. So it is incumbent and all ministries, departments and agencies, not just the Ministry of Finance, to ensure that overtime budgets are managed,” added Clarke.
The House later approved the Supplementary Estimates, the Fiscal Policy Paper 2024/25 Interim Report, and the Public Bodies First Supplementary Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the fiscal year.
In closing the debate, Clarke, in a message seemingly aimed at both sides of the House, reiterated the importance of economic buffers and sound fiscal policies that he said are critical to withstand exogenous growth shocks and the risks to the economy.