Government considering time limit for investigation of suspended public officials
PUBLIC SERVICE regulations are being reviewed with consideration for modern human resource demands for a time limit on investigations of public officials suspended from work, the Government says.
The disclosure from Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke follows last week’s revelation by The Sunday Gleaner that $81 million in pre-tax basic salaries have been paid to seven suspended public officials, whose cases grabbed national attention over the last 29 months. When accounting for benefits and their temporary replacements, the costs soar, shedding light on the financial and administrative repercussions of prolonged suspensions.
It is unclear when the cases will be settled.
Section 32 of the 1961 Public Service Regulations allows for the interdiction or suspension of public officers where “the public interest requires that that officer should cease to perform the functions of his office”.
However, there is no stipulated period within which investigations must be completed.
Dr Clarke said the issue raises “a legitimate concern”.
“It is something we would want to change in the public service but many factors have to be taken into consideration,” he told The Sunday Gleaner on Saturday.
“The Office of the Services Commissions is reviewing the Public Service Regulations with the objective of bringing these regulations more in line with our labour laws and with current human resource practices.”
The review is also taking place amid broader reforms of the public sector.
THREE MONTHS
The update comes as the Human Resource Management Association of Jamaica (HRMAJ) joined the Jamaica Civil Service Association of Jamaica (JCSA) and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) in calling for the regulations to be amended to mandate the completion of probes within a set timeline.
HRMAJ’s president, Dr Cassida Jones Johnson, argued that three months is “the best practice” and “should be sufficient time to conclude an internal investigation for breach of policy”.
She said cases of nonperformance and breaches of policy or procedures should be separated from criminal offences, as public agencies have no control over the pace of those probes by law enforcement bodies.
“Internally, a committee can be formed with relevant tasks, such as reviewing documents, interviewing key persons, holding a hearing, etc., prior to a decision,” Dr Jones Johnson shared with The Sunday Gleaner.
“In addition, we should bear in mind that while an employee is out on paid suspension/interdiction in excess of three months, a potential successor might be appointed to act in the role. As a result, an organisation may be clocking up the cost of paying the suspended employee and the employee who is acting in the role during his/her absence.”
She added: “For the private sector, the costs would be hitting the bottom line by impeding profits, so investigations are concluded quite swiftly, in accordance with disciplinary policies and procedures. For the public sector, it would be the taxpayers picking up the costs of the suspended employee and acting candidate for an indefinite period of time.”
Employees should be paid and receive all benefits due while on suspension, Dr Jones Johnson further argued. “They are not yet proven guilty, but rather out of the way for an objective investigation to take place,” she noted.
She said the association does not support suspension without pay for several reasons, including that it would be an incentive to organisations to drag out the investigations; lead to double jeopardy; result in employees being disciplined without a hearing; or even open the agencies to lawsuits.
JCSA and JCTU have both suggested four to six weeks for investigations to be concluded.
NEED TO RECTIFY
The seven cases examined by The Sunday Gleaner last week involved persons who have been off the job for six months to more than two years.
They include Dr Grace McLean, the chief education officer in the education ministry; and three from HEART NSTA/Trust, Jamaica’s skills training agency – Novelette Denton Prince, senior director of corporate services and former acting managing director; Sonia Ingleton, senior manager, human resource management; and Oneke Dixon, manager, human resources.
Two other instances relate to Shawn Martin, field inspector and deputy head of planning at the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation; and assistant building surveyor Calvet Sutherland.
The seventh case involves National Water Commission (NWC) President Mark Barnett.
Persons have been appointed to act in at least five of the roles, pending the outcome of the cases.
The lengthy investigations with no clear finality in sight is another manifestation of the challenges with access to justice in Jamaica, argued Dr Christian Stokes, development economist and social commentator.
“The wheels of justice in the country generally just turn too slow,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.
“We do have a tendency to want to punish ahead of any decisions or verdicts being rendered. It is the small things that make certain societies civilised, and this is one of the small things that I think we need to rectify.”
Techa Clarke-Griffiths, president of JCSA, said workers suffer “extreme hardships” from unresolved investigations.
“Some of them (interdicted workers) are intended to be punished. So, there’s no urgency on the part of the organisation to expedite the process. In other cases, there’s a lack of resources, meaning personnel, to do the investigation.”
‘It is something we would want to change in the public service but many factors have to be taken into consideration.’ CLARKE