LETTER OF THE DAY - Consider age when slicing public sector

The Editor, Sir:

Over the past couple of months, the Government has undertaken the restructuring of the public sector. This is a move to which I give full support if it will benefit the Jamaican people by preventing unnecessary spending and improving efficiency (or better yet, creating it).

My concern, however, is this: how can improvement be achieved if, at the end of the restructuring exercise, the public sector will still be stocked with the same inefficient personnel? From my experience, one of the main problems in the public sector is the culture of many persons who have been working in government entities for a very long time.

Many of them are over 50 years old and have only worked in the public sector. Because of this, they appear to be of the mindset that the office is their backyard and manage it as such. That is to say, only what they say goes, never mind the innovative suggestions from other (mostly younger) personnel.

Change in method

We are in an era where technology of the day is what will really move any country forward. However, many of these long-serving government workers even appear to be afraid of the poor, lifeless computer! Many are technologically behind or completely ignorant, and are often unwilling to implement change, particularly along technologically advanced lines. I suspect that this may be because such an action would end up proving how anachronistic they are.

I can remember suggesting a change in method to a former supervisor after doing some research on the Internet. Such an action would have eliminated the labour-intensive technique that was being used at the time, and also discourage other staff members from simply not carrying out the procedure! Unfortunately, the supervisor's response was "This is the way we have always done it," meaning that my research-derived technique and I could go back to where we were coming from.

Stifling creativity

Mind you, I am not knocking old age, as I have great respect for older persons and the contributions they have made to the development of our nation. But if truth be told, I am very fearful of working with persons over the age of 45 as they often have an attitude which stifles the creativity of younger persons. As a result of this, more young persons are on a fast track to leave the public service, owing to frustration borne out of rejection and/or resentment of their input, poor remuneration, and plain boredom.

It is very important that the Government carefully considers not only the numbers but also the types of persons who will be selected to exit the public sector. Those who should be borne in mind include employees who go to their second jobs between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. without official permission; are missing in action after 'going on the road'; are drunk on the job; are sleeping for hours while at work and simply go missing for hours throughout the course of the day.

I really believe that a positive change in the culture of the public sector, starting with the Government, will bring about a more efficient public sector. But then again, I am a young person, what do I know?

I am, etc.,

CONCERNED CITIZEN

Portsmouth, St Catherine