With the change in government, what protection do civil servants have against being transferred or fired at the whim and fancy of the new MLAs? If a civil servant is let go because the new minister prefers to bring in someone else, does the civil servant have any protection or recourse?
Auntie’s answer: I put your question to Deputy Governor Franz Manderson, who is the head of the civil service. He explained that position makes him “responsible for employment decisions for civil servants, including transfer, dismissal, hiring, or discipline, under the Cayman Islands Constitution and the Public Service Management Law (PSML) (2013 Revision), and by the authority of the governor”.
In addition, Section 21(a) of the PSML states that in carrying out his duties, the head of the civil service shall “act independently and not be subject to the direction of any other person or authority other than the governor to the extent specified in this law”.
Now we turn to addressing your specific employment concerns after the recent elections. Here is what Mr Manderson said about that: “It is expected that once decisions on the make-up of ministries are confirmed, it will be necessary to transfer civil servants to ensure continuity and expertise on subject matters. These decisions will be made by the deputy governor in consultation with the staff members, chief officers and ministers. These transfers happens every four years and is expected by ministry staff whose responsibility is to ensure maximum support for their minister and chief officer.”
I take that explanation to mean that civil servants will be moved around according to what the deputy governor believes to be the best use of their skills and knowledge.
Mr Manderson also made it clear that the proverbial buck stops with him: “At the end of the day, all human resource-related decisions will be made by the deputy governor.”
The law mentioned in this column can be found on the CNS Library
Civil servants only lose their jobs if incarcerated in jail for a few years or if they can no longer work through permanent illness or death.As we all know it’s a job for life regardless of performance.
Sadly the numbers will not be reduced and the do-nut feeding social welfare program known as the “civil service” will continue to consume dollars unchecked.
you want to reduce the CS? Do so by privatizing sections of it not cutting services.
So you are one of those who make every excuse to not employ Caymanians.
which change in Government are you talking about? The PPM are still in control.
The Deputy Governor should be reminded that the politicians represent the people. Those persons don’t go to Franz Manderson when they don’t have a job. They go to their respective elected member. Therefore, the politicians MUST have a say, not in which post a CAYMANIAN is placed, but by insisting that CAYMANIANS MUST be appointed. If not, the answer is simple. The elected members control Finance Committee where the funds are voted. Let the politicians stand their ground and demand hiring of CAYMANIANS. Otherwise, they should be bold enough not to vote any money in the budget for the Deputy Governor himself or the civil service until he understands where the real power is. So he needs to stop trying to flex his muscles.