PSU Pushes for Human-Centered Approach in Government Downsizing of DYS

The Public Service Union (PSU) is calling on the government to be more human-centered in its approach in downsizing the Department of Youth Services (DYS) and the National Sports Council.  Reports say that the recently installed Minister of youth and Sports, Anthony Mahler, is looking to make both entities more efficient by way of performance and finances.  For a businessman, it is a logical move, but in the public sector, it is raising eyebrows and the PSU has now felt the need to step in with questions and perhaps, some demands.  Dean Flowers, PSU’s President, explained to Love News that aside from being human-centered, he believes the Minister should conduct a thorough assessment of the two entities before deciding how many workers to send home.  Best information to Love News is that as many as 100 open vote workers may be laid off in the coming weeks.

Dean Flowers, President, PSU: “The directors in particular have been approached in various meetings and have been instructed to come up with a list of individuals that are supposed to be terminated and in my view that is not the way how you properly restructure and reorganize a department. If you’re going to declare people’s position as being redundant or otherwise or you’re going to abolish those positions all along then there’s a way that you do that and you have to do a proper review, you have to do a proper analysis and where it is found that in fact a hundred positions are not needed since that is the number that we understand they’re slashing by then some serious question needs to be asked also of your management team not only your directors but your entire management team and perhaps for good measures the former minister is where he is because of perhaps these inefficiencies that may exist that have been identified but again I repeat I do not believe that within two weeks, maximum three weeks, the ministers would have received or can demonstrate anything that justifies taking such a rash decision so quickly. And so that’s all we’re asking for. That first and foremost let’s be conscientious of the fact that we’re dealing with people and their livelihood here. Two, if we are to become an efficient organization then clearly we need a technical analysis of the current roles and positions and we try to align those with whatever the strategic plan or the new direction of the departments, whatever direction the ministers have set out that that they want to go in then we try to align that but we just don’t make decisions based on emotions and I think it’s more a politically charged decision that is currently being undertaken and that’s the reason we felt it necessary to ask the ministry to reconsider their approach and as the good former commissioner would have said tap their brakes a little bit and let us rationally conduct this exercise to identify where there is wastage in terms of human resource allocation.” 

As the PSU asks for the human-centered approach, our newsroom asks President Flowers to draw a balance in this situation.  On one hand, several unions are asking the government for outstanding allowances, restoration of increments and a restructuring of the pension scheme.  On the other hand, the government is scaling back on its wage bill and the unions are clamoring for a human-centered approach.  Here is how Flowers responded.

Dean Flowers, President, PSU: “Where the public sector and the private sector is concerned, there is absolutely no way both can and should be compared. The public sector is not profit driven. The public sector is service driven. It is human centered and it is geared towards providing social services for the benefits of the citizenry. So it is not a profit driven organization as you may have alluded to. As it relates to any cost saving measures that may be targeted here, that is not the information that we’re receiving.  And if it is that the government will embark on a cost saving measures,  then that has to be a comprehensive approach. It cannot be targeted at perhaps two of the smallest departments across the entire government service. I can tell you that it would appear based on certain comments that were echoed by the Minister of State, including what was communicated to us by members of staff, that it is more about getting a greater allocation of funds for infrastructure development and infrastructure maintenance. So there is absolutely no attempt to save money here. It is rather finding a way how do I relocate money that was previously earmarked for salaries to now go into contracts,  into contracts whether it be to build new facility or whether it means to maintain the current facility. So I think I need to make it clear that this is not an austerity exercise. This is an exercise to repurpose money at the expense of the dignity and social welfare  of certain public officers.”

Love News reached out to Minister of State for Youth and Sports, Devin Daily, who told us he was in a meeting and could not give an interview.  He did state, via text, however, quote, “We’re looking at a possible increase in monies allocated and we’ve been having discussion with directors of both Youth & Sports to see how we can most efficiently deliver the services for these ministries.” End of quote.