Minister Usher Responds to PSU Boycott of NeoPeople Pilot

Minister of the Public Service Henry Charles Usher has responded to several concerns advanced by the Public Service Union (PSU) in recent weeks, including objections to the NeoPeople human resource management system, the proposed Revenue Authority and the wider relationship between the Government and the union.  Last week, the PSU issued a circular instructing public officers not to participate in the NeoPeople pilot programme until its outstanding concerns are resolved. The union claimed the pilot was launched without its consent, despite ongoing discussions with the Ministry of the Public Service.  In an interview this morning, Minister Usher responded PSU’s instruction that officers boycott the pilot.

Henry Charles Usher, Minister of Public Service: “So we have had discussions with the Public Service Union back and forth in terms of communication when it comes to this rollout as we have been saying over the past years, the modernization of the public service is a key component of Plan Belize and that’s something that we have to continue to do. That includes the digitization process, making sure the files are digitized and I can tell you that everyone who has participated in this pilot project, and it is a voluntary pilot project for now, you don’t have to respond if you don’t want as a public officer but those who have responded are very happy with the system. They are saying that the onboarding is easy. They are happy that they are able to access their files, see their files, being able to apply for certain things in a much easier way. This is the way the world is going while we have to be able to keep up. And the longer it takes for us to do it, the less efficient the services will be. And that is my role to make sure that the services, not not only to the citizens of this country, but from a Ministry of Public Service where we serve the employees we are the HR arm of government. So the services being provided to other public officers also has to be modernized and improved. And that’s what this project is doing.”

Among its demands, the PSU is seeking a binding memorandum of understanding governing the system, disclosure of the NeoPeople contract, the appointment of a Data Privacy Officer and access to a completed Data Protection Impact Assessment. It also wants assurances that officers who decline biometric enrolment will not face disciplinary action or other adverse consequences.  The union further alleged that private email addresses belonging to public officers were shared with NeoPeople without their knowledge or consent.