The Public Service Compensation Review and Job Classification Project that began last November is now complete, and Governor John Rankin presented the final report to Cabinet on Nov. 8, government announced last Thursday.
That report, however, has not been released to the public, and leaders have not said if public officers can expect a salary increase anytime soon.
The review was conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers Trinidad and Tobago under a $302,103 contract awarded in October 2022, according to government.
“I am beyond pleased to know that we have now completed this portion of our long-overdue compensation review,” said Deputy Governor David Archer Jr. “We are committed to ensuring public officers are compensated equitably, and this is a key step in ensuring competitive salaries for the public service.”
The review was carried out in six phases: project planning; a current-state assessment; a compensation philosophy and revised class system; the compensation review; a job evaluation methodology; and close-out.
In July, PwC consultants Shermarke Howard and Khari Murray visited the territory to meet with stakeholders, according to a government press release issued last Thursday.
During the visit, they discussed the progress of the review with senior managers across all ministries and invited all other public officers to engage with them directly as well, the release stated.
Before that, the reviewers conducted a comprehensive survey that received 585 responses and provided data to inform the effort.
Throughout the project, Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley and other Cabinet members and public officers also provided regular feedback, government added.
“The completion of this [project] represents the government’s commitment to ensuring public officers receive compensation that is in line with industry and international standards,” Financial Secretary Jeremiah Frett said in the press release.
Deputy Governor’s Office Permanent Secretary Sharleen DaBreo-Lettsome added that the review provides “a comprehensive look” at how public officers are compensated.
Before the governor presented the report to Cabinet last week, the document underwent several rounds of consideration by the Office of the Deputy Governor and the project management team, according to government.
Last week, Cabinet heard a presentation on the final report by the deputy governor, his permanent secretary, the financial secretary, and PwC consultants.
Cabinet will now consider the report and decide the way forward, the press release stated.
“After consideration by Cabinet, stakeholders, various associations, heads of departments and public officers will be informed of the outcome,” government added.
To be made public?
It is unclear if the report will be released to the public.
“A decision has not yet been made regarding how the contents of the report will be shared,” DGO Assistant Information Officer Eusa Adams told the Beacon yesterday. “However, the priority will be to first share contents of the report with public officers and associations before a decision is made on making the contents of the report public.