Civil servants still unimpressed with pay

(CNS): The 2020 civil service survey has revealed that of the 83% of government workers who took part, only 42% are satisfied with their pay. Despite the cost of living allowance rolled out in January last year, there was only a 7% increase in public servants who said they were happy with their pay and benefits. But although the majority feel underpaid and the civil service as a whole has just gone through one of the most challenging years in history with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the survey showed that 89% were proud to be civil servants.

The survey results are outlined in the Portfolio of the Civil Service’s annual report, which was tabled in Parliament this week.

One of around 30 annual and financial reports that government departments have been sitting on that have now been made public, the PoCS report revealed that there are more than 4,000 people working in the civil service and 3,428 of them took part in the Employee Engagement Survey, which was conducted in the last quarter of 2020. While many of the categories that government employees were questioned about showed improvements, the pay and reward question still had the most negative response.

“Addressing this area remains a priority for the CIG and, in 2021, PoCS intends to conclude the review of our pay strategy and will make recommendations for change, for consideration by the Deputy Governor,” PoCS Chief Officer Gloria McField-Nixon said in the report.

Over the year the portfolio also supported changes to the Personnel Regulations, including an increase in the annual leave entitlement for staff on the lowest grades R, GAA and GBB, to bring those employees in line with staff on the next tier.

“This was done to ensure that all Civil Servants receive a minimum annual leave entitlement of 18 working days per annum and the change impacted approximately 298 employees, of which 80% were Caymanian,” the chief officer noted.

A review of rewards and remuneration started in early 2020 but it was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some progress was made at the end of the year when the leave benefits were addressed, which has seen some of the lowest paid government workers get an additional six days paid annual leave.

Cabinet has also approved a new salary scale for the top earners, implemented on 1 January this year, which introduced changes to salary Grades A through D to reduce overlap within those grades and ensure that “remuneration remains competitive and reflects the gravity of responsibilities for roles, particularly those at the most senior levels”, the report stated. A review of the remaining salary grades is ongoing.

The survey also asked the civil service how well they thought the Cayman Islands Government handled the COVID-19 crisis locally. 89% of respondents felt the CIG managed the response well. 90% said they had the necessary communication with their manager and peers to successfully work remotely and had contributed to getting the country through, while 86% reported having the necessary tools to work remotely.

96% of those who took part also said they were interested in their work. While there was an increase in favourability about how government workers felt about management and their direct bosses, only 56% said they were happy about leadership and managing change.

See the POCS annual report in the CNS Library.