TCI: Deputy Governor and Civil Service Association meet to discuss ongoing work and future plans for the Civil Service

#Providenciales, November 3, 2018 – Turks and Caicos – Deputy Governor and Head of the Public Service, Hon. Anya Williams met with Executive members of the Civil Service Association (CSA) on Thursday, November 1^st, 2018 to discuss a number of key matters pertaining to the Turks and Caicos Islands Civil Service.  The discussion covered areas such as: The Revitalization of the CSA and hosting of the next election; the completed work and financial modeling of the Increment Policy which is being presented by the Deputy Governor’s Office to Cabinet for approval and consideration; and the ongoing work of the Benefits Committee on the introduction of a new long term benefits programs to replace the former TCIG gratuity/pension scheme.

Also discussed, was the work by the Civil Service In Action Committee to launch a Civil Service Community Works Programs and plans to host the next Civil Service Week which was previously scheduled to take place in September 2017, but was cancelled due to passage of hurricanes Irma and Maria.

The Deputy Governor highlighted the success of a number of policies and programs in the civil service including: The Professional Development Program which in its fourth year of operation continues to provide much needed opportunities for staff to obtain full scholarships to the Turks and Caicos Islands Community College and grant funding for overseas and online study programs; the new recruitment strategy which continues to attract a high level of interest from new entrants to join the civil service, as well as the significant promotions that continue to be made across the civil service.

In terms of the work on long term benefits by Benefits Committee, the Deputy Governor advised that a proposal had previously been considered in late 2016 to replace the current long service program.  But, further work is being undertaken to review and compare the gratuity and pension schemes that exist in other territories, to design a new comprehensive program for the TCI, which factors in scope and affordability; particularly as there would be a requirement for new and additional funding that takes into account the public service costs parameters that had been set following the Voluntary Severance Program in 2012.

General meetings with the civil service will be held throughout the month of November to provide update on all of these matters as well as address many of the concerns of the civil service, mainly regarding the challenges continued to be faced following the loss of and damage suffered to offices post the hurricanes in 2017 and the need to have many repaired and or relocated.

Hon. Williams commenting on the meeting stated; “It was a pleasure to meet with the Executive Members of the Civil Service Association as we have previously done to discuss a number of key matters pertaining to the civil service.  The Executive fully recognizes the concerns raised by the civil service regarding their value and the work required of them and will be working to fill a number of vacant positions over the course of the weeks ahead.

“It was important to discuss with them as I intend to do with the entire civil service, the ongoing work to develop and implement a number of key policies and programs across the civil service designed at further enhancing the work and well-being of the civil service.”

Press Release: TCIG