With more than 2 000 public servants due to be permanently appointed to the Public Service on New Year’s Day, Attorney General Dale Marshall has made clear that several categories of employees will not be eligible for confirmation.
In the debate on the Public Service (Appointments) Bill in the House of Assembly on Tuesday, the Minister of Legal Affairs highlighted Section 6 of the bill, which addresses those who will be ineligible for appointment on January 1.
“Individuals will not be eligible for an appointment to an office where you are the subject of a disciplinary matter,” he said. “So if there is a pending disciplinary matter, you will not get the benefit of this appointment. If you are the subject of an ongoing criminal matter, you will not get the benefit of this appointment. If you were convicted of an offence and your conviction has not been expunged, you will not get the benefit of the appointment.
“Similarly, if you’re on medical leave for a period of at least three months, or if your personnel records show a negative report or report with misconduct under the public service. So the fact is that we’ve tried to take into account instances where it would be foolhardy to make appointments by virtue of this statute in this particular way.”
Marshall also said that the bill excludes members of the Barbados Police Service and the Barbados Prison Service from being automatically appointed because of their “particular nature”.
Saying that police officers were once again benefitting from flexi-time payments for overtime work, the attorney general stated that the entire public service will go through a “re-grading process”, including the police.
“I’m quite sure that in 2026 we will have an environment where the police service will see themselves benefiting from far better salary scales than they currently benefit from,” he said, adding that the administration has increased the budget of the police service annually since coming to office in 2018.
Regarding the transition of special constables to police constables, Marshall said these officers are now in a stream that allows them to receive salary increments and promotions.
(JB)
The post AG details who will miss out on public service appointments appeared first on Barbados Today.
