Business
Jamaica: Simpson-Miller administration looking to eliminate 10000 public sector jobs
The Cabinet Secretary in the Simpson-Miller People’s National Party (PNP) administration Ambassador Douglas Saunders has revealed that the recent elimination of about 3,000 jobs from the Jamaica civil service was a “cleaning-up exercise” and it would not result in any savings in the current budget or affect the 10,000 jobs targeted for elimination under the previous Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) administrations of Bruce Golding and Andrew Holness.
Saunders clarified that the 3,000 jobs were not related to the 10,000 which former Prime Minister Bruce Golding had, in his May 2011 budget speech, announced would be eliminated from the Jamaica government over the next five years, as part of the public sector Master Rationalization Programme (MRP).
Golding had announced the move as part of efforts by his administration to save some JM$40 billion to JM$50 billion (US$448 million – US$560 million) primarily from staff reduction and privatization and outsourcing of certain functions to help meet public sector wage to gross domestic (GDP) targets. He said that greater benefits were expected from improved efficiency and productivity as well.
Golding also explained that there were 118,163 persons employed in the public sector and that the five-year rationalization programme would reduce the figure to 108,000 persons, but that retirees or persons eligible for early retirement would account for a large percentage of the reductions.