CS cuts will create burden
(CNS): Cutting too many jobs from the civil service would create further burdens for government coffers because the private sector would not be willing to give up enough work permits, the premier has said. As the debate rages in the community about 'big government', McKeeva Bush pointed out that it would still be the public sector that would have to foot the bill for the growth in unemployment with welfare costs if significant jobs were lost. But he pointed out that the cuts would also impact spending in the economy. Bush berated those who are calling for over 500 jobs to go from the civil service, stating that it would do untold harm to many families.
Speaking at a public meeting about the budget at the Mary Miller Hall Wednesday night, the premier denied that his refusal to cut CS jobs or other major spending areas of government, such as scholarships, the Nation Building Fund or veterans' payments, was vote buying but said it was about helping Caymanians.
Bush said that as a result of the pressure from the UK, Cabinet had already slashed public sector spending this year but he was not prepared to allow any job cuts. In any event , the premier continued to insist that it was not his job to cut the headcount in government as the elected members of Cabinet did not have the power. Once again, he pointed the finger at the governor as the one responsible for what many considered the inflated size of the public sector.
Duncan Taylor has stated on several occasions that while the supervision of the civil service is his responsibility through the Deputy Governor's Office, jobs cannot be cut unless the elected arm of the administration indicates its policy priorities and areas where it would be willing to reduce services. The governor still requires policy direction so the civil service management can work out where job losses should be made.
The premier made it abundantly clear, however, that he would not approve any major job losses in the public sector as it would be too damaging to too many people. He said that there were already concerns about the impact the cuts that have been made to benefits would have.
Bush said that in this budget the government had reduced spending considerably as a result of slashing the marketing budget for tourism, a fall in spending on consumables, a decrease in equity investments, the proposed sale of the helicopter, the reduction of the police housing allowance down to pre-Ivan levels and the removal of free health benefits for civil servant's dependents, whose cover will now need to be paid for. He described a policy sea-change that would require all new recruits to the public sector to contribute to their own pensions and their health cover in future.
Acknowledging the demands for still more cuts in operational expenses, he said there was a need for greater recognition by the private sector of the civil service's role in the Cayman Islands' well-being.
Bush said it was impossible to make thecuts to satisfy everyone and people had to be aware that if public sector workers lost their jobs and were unable to find employment in the private sector they would still be a burden on the public purse as government had an obligation to take care of its own people. “These are humans who have been given a contract,” he said, also pointing out the loss of spending power in the economy.
With pressure from the private sector mounting to acknowledge that the problem with Cayman's budget was not revenue raising but spending, Bush pointed to other costs in government that he did not support but was forced to find the money for.
He complained about the costs associated with the implementation of the bill of rights and legal aid spending. He said government had to find $1.8 million per year so that the person “who killed the baby in a car” could have the best QC, and while prisoners had access to better healthcare than civil servants he was not prepared to make cuts on hard working Caymanians.
Bush berated those who said he should cut things such as the money to veterans, the Nation Building Fund or scholarships. He said there was too much hypocrisy as only certain people in the past had got scholarships to go to high school or college and too many Caymanians were left out.
Bush also defended the money going to churches as he said it was to help them build hurricane shelters, which was cheaper than government funding those projects, and added that the Nation Building Fund was about the future of young people and keeping them out of jail.
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Category: Politics
Overpaid underworked the best deal on the island, free health and pension, no wonder I cannot get a good smart Caymanian to work for me, they are all living la vida loca in the CS, you wouldvbe stupid not to.
Obviously you dont know many of the good hard-working, blue-collar, just scraping-by, civil servants!
Why are we always talking about cutting jobs? What ever happened to cutting other expenses?
Has the Government followed up with the inappropriate and over-use of the gasoline cards issued to Civil Services and have better policies been put in place?
Perhaps it can be re-evaluated who as a CS really needs a blackberry/cell phone paid for by the Government.
Sames goes with the use of Government vehicles.
Perhaps we need to keep better track of abuse of sick-leave and implement better messures.
Maybe the police dept could receive 2012 worthy equipment which includes installing permanent speed traps on certain stretches. If they would enforce the traffic law, police dept could probably fund itself with the fines it collects.
Why don't we stop paying senior civil servants which have been "retired" for political reasons.
Why don't we collect the outstanding duty owed by many (Michael Ryan first in line). If they can't pay, take posession of their property and sell it.
Maybe we could stop giving scholarships to students who can not maintain a certain GDP (is anyone acutally following up on this?)
Maybe we need to stop funding athletes who are frequently plagued by injuries and can not perform and deliver.
I am sorry, but times are rough for everyone. So politicians, make a choice, cut back on spending or put people out of a job. Which one will it be?
Immigration should be cut drastically. Nobody on the front knows what they are doing. I really symphatize with Ms. Linda because all those people at the front do not have a clue of what they are doing and they are very spiteful and do not attend to the everlasting crowd that sits for 4 hours before getting any attention. Many times the place is packed and the officers sitting in their booth does nothing to assist. They wait until this crazy computer makes an announcenment to say which number is called. It will really be interested to see how this is monitored because you sit there for hours before it calls A51,then A52 and all they do is treat all the A's every 45 minutes and forget about the B's, C's and everybody that sits there for more than 2 hours. Then all the lazy officers sits there looking on their computer screen and do absolutely nothing to assist the public. This is NO SERVICE. Please put 3 hard working Immigration Officer out front and get rid of the others.
First persons to cut are the expat contracted civil servants!!! This place is a joke no one wants to make a hard decision.
It is simple, here's how to do it without cutting the Civil Service. Take the revenue figure collected last year, subtract all your fixed expenses such as loans and capital project payments required for the 2012-2013 period. From what is left, decide what percentage will be used for salaries. From there decide on the required reduction to the top earners of the Civil Service.
Next cut the MLA pension payments and readjust their pension calculations to bring it in line with the other Civil Service. They have it unfairly loaded to get the maximum for just a few years of service.
Then look at Social Services. If you not old, incapacitated, or suffering from a disability or mental ailment, wean them off. There are many jobs available, but many of them just don't want to put in an honest days work.
Next is the sponsored overseas medicals. We can only afford what is available here and that is it. It is time that people take responsibility for their lives. They drink and smoke and when they get sick, or get in accidents, they believe that it is the government's responibility to take up the slack.
Legal Aid should only be dished out for offences that carry life imprisonment. Lawyers in my opinion, have devised a system that ensures their livelihood at the expense of victims and the crown.
It's not hard. It is simple and easy to bring the budget back into control.
If the private sector is not providing jobs for the many Caymanians unemployed as we speak, how then can they provide for 200, 300, 400 additional layoffs? People, cutting the Civil Service in large amounts at one time, is not a wise idea.
Cuts must be made in the civil service budget. Government is killing the country. As long as government continues to overspend beyond it's means, the cost of living, and doing business here will go up. Business and expats will be leaving.
Watching the last 2 governments is a bit like watching a teenager with their first credit card.
Times 500,000,000.00
Two examples of why CIG cuts needed: I go to the Immigration website, and it has not been updated since July 12, 2012(at least). I click on Customers Survey link- and it takes me to "
" screen- keep in mind I have not done anything yet.
Then I go to the DMV site- click on transfer of ownership form, and get this:
Not a valid URL.
No data found
ORA-1403: ORA-01403: no data found
Someone is getting a paycheck for maintaining these sites. Now I have to physically go to both places, stay in long lines, take time of "real" person, instead of just getting it all done online.
"real" person,,,,in Immigration????
ORA-1403: ORA-01403: no data found (WWC-36000)
Silly you. You just neet to understand the Java programming lanuage and all will be good. Get with the program.
Yes! Let's cut the civil service! Begin with the garbage men. Let the trash pile up for more than one week and see who starts to complain.
Then i suggest cutting the police officers. The criminals are running things anyway so it won't really make a big difference. Less is best.
Then let's move on to the social workers. Let's cut their team down. We can surely deal with the the random needy person some who have issues that any jack can deal with. Anybody can deal with mentally ill people who often threaten violence its just a job for crying out loud.
Nurses and doctors should be next. Medical care isn't really important and there are too many of them anyway. People won't mind waiting an extra 48 hours to see one. It's fine.
Let's not forget the teachers. We can all send our children to…..PRIVATE SCHOOL!!!! We can all afford to pay that 800-1750 a month school fee! We are rich remember.
Geeze…. Immigration! Ah, they are severely overstaffed and anybody can do their job. So let's get rid of them.
Cayman Airways….let's get rid of it. In the event of a natural disaster I'm 100% certain that delta, american, us air will all be happy to come fly us out. I mean all the other airlines picked up their nationalities when Ivan hit so maybe they'll adopt us.
Firemen should go too. Fires don't happen too often and if one does we can all chip in with buckets of water. TEAMWORK!
To be continued……..
Please understand that the amount of work required by the civil service can be done by a substantially less amount of employees. That is why the civil service needs to be cut…
OK. Sounds good to me. Start today.
Ok Let's cut the civil service. Would anyone object if the cutting started with the expat workers in the civil service? No renewal of their contracts. Does anyone know how many of the civil service consists of expats. I want to know.
By all means do it, but ask yourself first why they are there in the first place? and why didn't the government apply the rollover policy to expat civil servants – could it possibly have anything to do with the fact that you couldn't function without them and they are a big part (but not all) of the reason that it functions at all, albeit in the most unproductive way. Do it, I dare you!
How many Caymanian civil servants does it take to change a light bulb?
Sorry, the answer is cruel but true.
Actually, this could be a good solution.
If the government became completely disfuctional (not a bad thing), then the private sector could simply ignore it.
Garbage collection? Hire a private one who can dump for a "fee" somewhere in ???.
Immigration? Lie to them and carry on.
Hotel room tax? Ignore it. It will never be audited.
Car license? Get one printed off-shore. No one will notice or care about the forgery.
Etc. etc. etc.
Government cannot cut the expat civil servants because of political postering. The chickens now come home to roost… when the govenment was giving away the mass status grants of 2004 and getting rid of the rollover policy they thought that it was such a wonderful idea. Now they have come to regret those decisions but cannot do anything about it. With the stoke of a pen the government signed away their soverign and control of the country to expats. Now tek that. Can't wait for human rights that Mr. McLaughlin gave us, that's when the fun will start. I see absolutely no good on the horizions for the natives of this country. Without jobs our young people have very little future than becoming unemployed, criminals without any prospects because of foolish policies of the government.
I agree cut the civil service by 100% of all expat non professional staff (replace them with Caymanians) then further reduce the professional expat staff by 1/2 and increase their salary by 25% and government would still be saving a lot all around.
Yeah, go on, try it. Get rid of the Englishmen maintaining your Immigration Computer system. Advertise their jobs locally (which is done at every re-newal). sit back and watch the entire system disintegrate.
This is exactly why we will not get our budget under control. You can't keep throwing money at the problem, willing it to go away. After the money is spent, the problem is still there. It was only temporarily subdued from the cash hiiigghh. We have a bloated civil service with so many unnecessary, inefficient positions. Get rid of some! Otherwise we'll have serious economic issue in the long run. Our country's political risk and in turn our investment risk, has already increased in light of recent tax (I mean "fee") discussions.
For those who are concerned about unemployment afterwards: Sometimes you don't always get the job that you want. Sometimes a company offers it to someone else and sometimes yes, you have to settle for a position that isn't ideal. It is what it is. This is life! The work permit review board is here for a reason. To ensure that qualified Caymanians are not passed over. As a Caymanian, I have never had a problem finding a job here. Yes, I've applied to some and either not been interviewed or received an offer. But you know what? I've had the exact same experience when I lived in Canada. I applied for jobs and didn't get them. Yet despite the disappointment felt at the time, I always found something else in the end. I kept trying; I adjusted my expectations, I analyzed my interview skills,I wrote a stronger cover letter, I networked. I made it happen. I didn't sulk and I didn't blame everyone else. I am responsible for myself.
Sometimes you have to start from the bottom and work your way up. Not everyone can jump to the top. I can't and that's okay. I'm content with a steady climb.
Amen brother or sister!! That is the job hunting experience the world over, except here, where some (not all) unsuccessful Caymanians who are turned down for jobs – always blame it on the expat myth. If they had half your gumption they would all have jobs!!
Well written, I hope you will echo the same sentiments six months from now because I wil guarantee you that in six months from now you will be out of job in Cayman with no prospects at all (but then again you can always move back to Canada because their economy is one of the few first world economy that is doing extremely well). You really need to read what is happening in the financial and tourism industry the world over.
To the Anon who commented first on my initial post: Whilst I appreciate sharing of opinions, I'm not quite sure why you think I will be out of a job in 6 months time. That's quite the statement to make; without any justification or solidity. It doesn't tie in with the main point of my post either. Yes, the world economy has taken a blow but that's not to say that in 6 months time everyone will be without employment. I think that perhaps you are the one who needs to broaden your thinking before making such restricted statements. Globalization is a beautiful thing.
At least putting these civil servants on welfare would be honest. Our current civil service is a more expensive welfare system giving jobs for votes.
Why does the Goventment not employ a program that encourages Civil Servants (an un justified term concidering there compensation packages) to take up employment in the private sector all of the staff should be in the private sector job pool. this can be done by bringing back the employee compensation to a level where the term Civil Servant actualy means somthing, doing a service to and for your country. Further to only be allowed to work for a certiain ammount of years in the governments employee and you get rolled out.
The whole GASBOY issue needs to be locked down quickley and properly as well. We don't even know how much money is going out the door there.
Ineptocracy -(in-ep-toc’-ra-cy)- A system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.
Perfect. Add the word "honorable" and it is now up to date.
I need a break from all of this tax-the-expats, dont-tax-the-expats, tax-the-expats-again-through-work permit-fees, nonsense.
So I am heading off to North Korea for awhile. I saw this photo of Ri Sol-Ju with her Christian Dior handbag, and WOW she is so very beautiful. I am 'gambling' that she has a younger sister that looks as pure and delicate as she is, and I am confident that I have a good chance of seducing her…
If she dont have a sister then Kim Jong-Un needs to understand that he has to scoot-on-over…
So good luck Cayman if you are hoping that Mac will lose any votes by reducing the civil service.
I stand more chance of seducing this precious North Korean Angel…
So here I come Ri Ri Dear…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2185377/North-Koreas-lady-Ri-Sol-Ju-1-000-Christian-Dior-bag.html?ITO=1490
Bush talks like its all or nothing. Either lay off 500-700 people or leave the CS exactly as it is.
Why not impose a ban on running your own business or being a paid officer of another company etc while working for the CS. Those who are doing so can then choose whether to keep their CS job or do the other one full time. That'll get rid of some.
Impose a hiring freeze (and actually follow it).
Then terminate those employees who haven't been to work for 6 months (yes there are plenty. Some are earning $150k+ and haven't turned up for work for over 4 years).
Then offer optional retirement at 25 years service. They have big enough pension pots to survive.
Then take the most grossly unproductive staff- those who call in sick every month, don't pull their weight etc. They are easy to identify. Put them on close supervision and let them know that the most unproductive 50% of them will be gone in 6 months. That gives them a chance.
Call in management consultants to try and sort out the inefficient mess so something actually gets done, and cut out the nepotism and cronyism.
Then cut the perks back to a reasonable level- no gas cards, no COLA, no medical for the entire family. Bring it more into line with the private sector.
The result would be massive savings, no loss of productivity (probably a gain) and no need to throw 500-700 people onto the street.
Dude, who are you kidding!! that is just too sensible and easy, we need solutions that make life as hard as possible for us and have only a small chance of achieiving anything positive!
While I agree with much of what you say, I think that reducing medical benefits for individuals and families to get "into line with the private sector" is the wrong way to go. We should bring the private sector coverage up to a higher standard.
By following the flawed US system, we have the same expensive yet inefficient care.
.We are all born the same
Then we seperate
Then the world falls apart
And blame turns to hate…….
Dear Police officer, Sorry to hear about your hardship. If your wife really wants to work in the field of her education, she should keep trying. Do you know that 65% of college graduates in US can't find a job and get 'burger flipping" jobs while still looking for a professional job? Perseverance pays. One, who is looking, will always find. On the other hand, your bitterness toward more successful people is not justified. Noone gets anything on a silver plate with a gold rim. They work hard for it. Once, I lived on $20 a week (after all bills were paid) with two children, and my second job was cleaning offices (I was college educated already). We were eating lots of 98cents pizzas those days. Never swallowed my pride though- never asked anyone for help. I am a certified professional now, helping kids to get through college (they both work part timeby the way and got student loans). While I am paid well here, 1/2 of the year I work 60-70 hours a week. If you do the math, hourly pay is not that big. I donate weekly too many charities here, volunteer for Hospice, clean beaches and recycle. Do not hate me. We are one. There is a good heart touching song by Ronan Hardiman "That place in your heart”. You tube it. ………..
BUSH, Rolston, CG, Mario, and Kerry are the only ones talking about cutting 500 CS jobs as the ONLY remedy to balancing the budget. The wider, sensible community is talking about cutting government spending overall, which includes cuts to:
Official Travel
Social Service vote-buying fund
Salaries to MLAs
Boatswain's Beach subsidy (by selling some of it)
Cayman Airways subsidy (by selling some of it)
Premier's household items (cook, utilities, security), by rights, shouldn't the Leader of Opp be entitled to the same? (not saying he should take it)
Gasboy Allowances
Government vehicle usage after hours and weekends
Health Insurance premiums paid by Govt
Cayman, we do not have a revenue generating problem, WE HAVE A POLITICAL SPENDING PROBLEM!!!
yes yes yes yes yes THANK YOU!
THE NATURE has its way of taking care of things like that-dissipate accumulated negtive energy. Just wait and see. THE IVAN did not teach this island anything.
I am FINALLY eligible to vote in 2013. My vote will only go to that person who will stand up against bloated ineffecient governent and will promise under no uncertain terms a calculated, fiscally responsible, trimming of the fat to sustainable levels. To my fellow Caymanians if you are in Civil Service the opportunity of a lifetime is now – it is time to step up your game. Those who don't cut the mustard will be the first to go. Perform your duties to the best of your ability, become efficient and take control of your own destiny by making yourself an important and valuable asset to the Civil Service otherwise I'm voting you out.
The word 'mustard' has been misused, its a condiment like ketchup and relish.
Cutting the 'muster' is a military term, look it up and you may be a better person for it by knowing what you're talking about.
Like your attitude though.
Part-time-Mentor
The matter of Mustard vs Muster seems here to need some clarification.
The earliest recorded use of the phrase "Cut the Mustard" (albeit in a positive sense) was by O Henry in 1907, in a story called The Heart of the West: “I looked around and found a proposition that exactly cut the mustard”. However, nobody seems sure of the origin.
Among the theories in circulation are:
That it comes from an old western expression, the proper mustard, meaning "the real thing" at first and then "the best". There is a suggestion that the use of mustard as a positive superlative dates from 1659 in the phrase "keen as mustard", and the use of cut to denote rank (as in "a cut above") dates from the 18th century.
That it comes from separate meanings of both cut and mustard. Donald Graeme in his Dictionary of Modern Phrase says cut in this sense derives from its meaning of "to perform or achieve", and mustard is "hot or sharp", both of which adjectives have come to mean "able and clever".
That it comes from the Latin monstrare "to show", as in the military phrase "to pass muster", i.e. to show up on the parade ground and not be found wanting in any particular.
So at this point I am undecided on which version is correct and will accept both as suitable expressions of the same purpose.
Theword "mustard" was not misused. "Cut the mustard" means if you can't keep to a certain level. Why not use your mentoring for something you know something about?
Can we start by terminating those civil servants that have been on gardening leave for a year or more? I have heard about several people who have not been working for gov for up to 2 years but are still receiving a salary. That is possibly the biggest waste of money…..pi**ing is away in my opinion.
Actually that's a pretty idiotic idea Sally… These civil servants had the misfortune to be put out to pasture without good cause (mainly for political reasons) and now you want to shoot them in the head while you're at it. You may wish to put them back to work instead and fire those who truly deserve to be fired. Think before you type next time. Think, type, think, type, think, type….
Holly burittos…..you have got to be kidding..I wonder if brains of Caymanian people wired differently……They truly believe that money fall from the sky and just becuase you were born here you are entitled to many things, including stealing, which they call benefits, just because they say so… Who in the world called these islands World's Financial Center??? I am shocked.
I am just going to assume that your being sarcastic with your post….your actually justifiying paying people to do diddly squat….tell me this ain't so and that your not involved in the any budgetary processes…if you are it sure does explain a lot.
Indeed you missed the point I was making.
I am not justifying the status quo for these people, being paid and not working. I don't for one minute see this as good in any way.
They have not chosen to stay in limbo in this situation, unlike McKeeva, they don't have that power.
Their situation is an outcome of the quality of leadership we have. McKeeva created this situation in 2009 when he took up office and what you can say is he has moved on, long forgotten about decent people and is wreaking havoc elsewhere. When called to task about this he falls back on his ever so popular line – not me its the Governor who has to fix it.
I absolutley agree it is disgraceful but I dont let go of my point that the individuals are merely pawns in a most unfortunate situation
Ummh, yeah, sorry about that but I am not exactly sure what I ought to be kidding about Sherlock? Are you talking about the 3-4 civil servants who were "ousted" for political reasons – is that who you are referring to? The ones who had a job one day and then didn't because they were of the wrong political stripe – and instead of being fired, they were just told not to show up to work any longer. If you were told one day not to show up any more because you like the PPM instead of the UDP, how would you feel about it Sherlock? Ummh, yeah, thought so. Some of these people were not "let go" because of their job performance, but rather because of who they support/don't support. Do you get it or do I have to spell it out for you further? P.S. Please tell me that you know the difference between "your" and you're" Sherlock; because that tooexplains a lot…
OK Watson fair enough, but fix the underlying problem rather than spending you time trying to justify the unfortunate consequences. Your country can't afford it – do you get this? You are approaching crunch time – do you get this Watson?
I must agree.
If we as Caymanians are truly guilty of something, it is looking at symptoms and not root causes. We find the first person to blame and puff our chest and walk away satisfied. We stop short of really discussing issues.
Since this governement came to office there has been large scale destruction of our people in a variety of ways.
The CS has always come under fire and, while some of that is justified, look at how our islands' First Premier came to office and axed people who had exemplary performance records. Why? Simply because he had the power to do so. Consider for a moment what that has done to the morale of the CS, and since as other less well known things have continued to take place.
For the 3 year period he has been in office his approach to governance has not changed. This last fiasco of the expat income tax idea is just another example.
These are REAL people. Let's not be like McKeeva and ridicule them for being in a situation not of their own making.
We need to become more objective about things and less emotional. Our issues are indeed systemic (big part of OMOV).
Let's take a more objective look at how we are being governed and what that means for our future. Let's get more informed on all sides of the story, not only the one McKeeva spends government's money on bill boards to promote.
You are absolutely correct to state that some people with exemplary performance records were put to the sidelines simply because the UDP came into power… Your other statement, among many others, that rang true was the one where you said "Let's not be like McKeeva and ridicule them for being in a situation not of their own making".
I work in the public service for a statutory authority and I interact very much with staff of various Government Departments, i.e. the "civil service" (note, staff of some public authorities are not members of the civil service due to the fact that such Authorities are self-funded – but are nonetheless 'public officers'). Everyday, externally and internally, I experience a high degree of inefficiency, waste, poor customer service, lakadaisical performance, complacency and other negatives which should never be associated with service provision, especially by public entities. Now, there are good, dedicated and efficient staff in the public service but the opposite is likely the majority, sadly.
If the Civil Service is to be reduced it should be for valid reasons like getting rid of staff who do not respect the opportunity to hold a job, do not appreciate what professional service delivery means or staff who are simply 'deadwood'. However, I can concur with the Premier's concerns that such people would become a burden on Government because no one else would want to hire them!
Reduce the civil service by sending back the many menial task employees from the region to open up these simple jobs for the uneducated Caymanians who presently seek welfare.
Reduce the burden on social services, as well as providde employment therefore….or is that too logical…?
I have seen how they "work" while sitting in the Immigration. For some reason young Caymanian men were serving customers faster than women, especially middle-aged. Don't take me wrong here, I am 50 myself.
I second that, you want to move through immigration quickly and without scowls, get served by a caymanian male, they kick butt on those female vipers!!
All too true. Many times you can't even get someone to answer the phone!
"Everyday, externally and internally, I experience a high degree of inefficiency, waste, poor customer service, lakadaisical performance, complacency and other negatives which should never be associated with service provision, especially by public entities."
But what about the bad days?
In good times the private sector may be able to support a huge and disruptive government.
But in bad times, it just cannot find enough funds to deal with both its own problems and
to continue to fund government at the same levels as before.
You would think that Government would be worried about killing the goose that laid the
golden egg, and volunteer whole heartedly to down size to help the goose. Sorry to say,
it appears far to short sighted.
Worldwide, bureaucracies are like cancers growing on the bodies of the producers, sucking out their life blood.
The main priority of everyone of them is security for each member and growth of the bureaucracy. Unless stopped, they will kill the economy they are growing on, and then
die themselves.
Just like a cancer, every bureaucracy can be counted upon to strongly resist any reduction in its size or power. And the result is the same. The ultimate death of both the bureaucracy and its hosts is inevitable.
Cayman has to muster enough courage to stop this from happening.
However, the argument Government uses is always the same. The discharged CS employees would be out of work and become a further burden on it.
Government never considers what would really happen. Its former employees would simply transfer from being a burden on the private sector to being a member of it, and helping it to grow instead of die.
Increasing the private sector and decreasing the public sector is exactly what we must do.
Admittedly this is strong medicine, but we must take it if we want to survive.
Atlas just shrugged.
CIG should just help those who got laid off and wishes to further their education, obtain news skills, etc. Those who demonstrate the drive to grow. Every challenge creates opportunities. By increasing dependence on handouts, weak just get weaker. With a new Hospital coming Cayman way, many people could just get new qualification.
"If the private sector is not providing jobs for the many Caymanians unemployed as we speak, how then can they provide for 200, 300, 400 or 800 additional Caymanians?"
As to the quote above, how many people put ads in the paper looking for a qualified Caymanian candidate? Many!!! Recently we put an ad in the paper for 2 weeks. Typically, we got all kinds of calls from Jamaica and not one expression of interest from a Caymanian. How are you supposed to employ people who refuse to even apply for a job? Stupid!!
Caymanians do not apply for these jobs because they know they will NOT be give a fair chance. When these ads are placed in the Compass most times the job has already been promised to an expat friend – they already have gone through a telephone interview and promised the job!!!!! The ad is only placed because they the Company must prove that they have advertised the position – this is a stupid requirement by Immigration in order to get the work permit approved!!!!!!!!!!! So please stop with this line of argument – all Caymanians including our POLITICIANS know that this is the norm. But they continue to turn their heads because they need the income from work permit fees. This will continue forever – it does not matter who is in control UDP, PPM, Dart, Fosters/Kirkconnell/Thompsons etc………….
You are so wrong! Stop usuing this myth to disguise your own short comings. We just employed two senior Caymanians via advertisements in the paper….What say you?
So what about the ads that say Caymanians need only apply, there are tons ofthem now. Here's the thing at times like these be thankful you have a job. It may not be your ideal, but its an honest living, and guess what some money is better than no money. Also its my opinion that Caymanians are at times to prideful (I apologize for the generalisation), they won't work certain jobs, but if the Filipinoes, Jamaicans and other nationalities can do these jobs and survive in Cayman, why can't local? The foolishness has to stop, the world is changing, being Caymanian doesn't get you anything these days and the govt can't help you, so help yourself!
That is as dumb as I've seen recently… If a Caymanian applies for a job, they must be at least interviewed… Not applying for a job because you don't think you'll get it or ASSUME it's been promised to someone and then complaining about it without even having your hat in the race is foolish to say the least. If a qualified Caymanian applies and isn't hired… the Company must note why… I've hired and not hired people based on this before (Caymanians and expats). The best person will get the job, and I would personally prefer to hire a Caymanian because they have roots in the community and I don't have to worry about them leaving to go back home after they've started a family etc… Your argument is weak… Get up and apply for the job you're quailfied for and stop complaining if you won't even put your dog in the fight!
Sir, your comment is absolutely incorrect.
Please think logically. Most companies would prefer to employ Caymanians, as the expenses associated with that are much less than employing a foreigner (work permit feees 10%, need to provide accomodation for first month or so, possibly transport for first month or so etc). Business is here to make profits, it is the same all over the world, so it would much prefer to employ people at lower cost..
So if what you state is true, then Caymanians have to ask themselves why? It is not hatred, or racism..it is pure business reasons. Please figure it out.
So when we advertise for a job and we want a Cayamian yet you do not contact us as we have in your minds already given the job to a expat (when we haven't). We then have to advertise elsewhere as well – increasning our costs to get in a expat. You then complain that we hired a expat. How do we keep you happy?
Sorry but there are a lot of expats working where caymanian people could be because you don't apply. Likewise I have also seen issues of Caymanians complaining to immigration for not getting a job (such as a CFO) because they didn't have the qualifications. Their complaint was that they should have got it despite only being a bank teller for 2 years as experience and no accounting degrees. Again this costs money & time while we have to go throught everything with immigration.
Why do I not see any Caymanians working serving in restruants or hotels cleaning rooms etc? Should the private sector knock on your door and offer a job to you personnally that you didn't apply for because you think its a;lready been given to a expat?
Those who voted for Mac and his goon squad should be forced to pay their weekly tithes and offerings to Mac and the UDP.
Wait. That is exactly what is happening – in reverse.
Mac is forcing the rest of us to pay our offerings to his church and to those who supported his gang…
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, CUT THE SERVICE.
I see a change in our Country over summer. Many expats beginning to move for the exits. Too many good ones to shame. To many good ones to turn my back on.
The decisions our government is making are not wise. Future more uncertain than in previous cycles (years)
I pray that our Premier will find some courage to do what nobody says they want him to do, but what everyone KNOWS he should do.
Bush is Truly Wrong on this One.
If he wanted to REALLLY help Caymanians he would stop trying to help them by suffocating the businesses that make the Country function.
Don't cut 500 jobs, Cut 700! Only choose the dumbest and the meanest this time rather than those not in your family.
Bush is going to have to live in Cayman after he is de-elected. People would revere him far more if he left the Country in better condition.
Far worse to spend like a drunken fool today and see everyone loose their jobs anyway later.
History will not judge Mr. Bush's cowardice kindly.
OMFG the verbal diarreah continues…
Or brain fart?
Burden!?
WTF is it now!?
This man has lost his marbles…
Make them go cook stem fish an plantain and salt beef curtains!
"A friend in need is a friend indeed". I think the Premier has taken this expression a bit to literally. Using a 10 million dollar slush fund to buy needy friends is indeed creative but not very smart. Here's a way to enhance revenue and reduce debt at the same time. Use the money gained from budget cuts to pay down the national debt and reduce our 30 million dollar per year interest payments. This is like finding money in the street. The lower the debt goes means less interest paid which means more money left over to spend for usefull things.
An even more productive use of the 10 million dollar Nation Building Slush Fund would be to take it all and invest it in a trust that yields a nive return on investment. This should be built into every budget going forward to allow government a fund of growing cash reserves that is always there. The interest can be drawn from only if needed leaving the principle in place to continue earning power. The proceeds could be earmarked for scholarships and training programs etc. This fund would be to the country what a pension is to the individual with the exception that the interest could be taken if needed. The goose would remain healthy and intact while Cayman reaps the benefit of the golden eggs being laid. It could be called the Cayman Islands Golden Goose Pension. It could not be manipulated by politicians and would grow with the future generations to help meet our needs as an added source of revenue. It would help to dive down the cost of living. This is a much more sensible approach than to simply give the 10 million away and have to search for more money later on to do similar giveaways; especially while we are in such a debt situation. It's the "give a man a fish, teach a man to fish" scenario.
The debt needs to be reconciled before money is used for anything but our bare essentials. We as a country now have to pay the piper for the lifestyle we have become accustomed to. If we don't bite the bullet and make sacrifices now, the lifestyles we have attained and strive to keep will vanish.
The Civil Service is a Welfare programme that hires under qualified Caymanians at over qualified salaries
Bottom line is every civil servant in the country should do their part and immediately start looking for private sector work – as far as I can see that’s the only way to reduce the numbers without having to lay people off.
I agree, BUT at the same time private sector work permits have to be immediately cancelled by the same number!!!!!!!!!!!! The revenue lost from these work permits is a LOT LESS less than the salaries paid to these civil servants. So that is immediately a cut in operating expenses for CIG.
Private sector MUST put in training programs for these Civil servants. If they want to continue to operate in these islands. These companies make MILLIONS and every year they pay dividends to the parent company but do not want to spend a little of this money back in the community to train Caymanians. They are quick to donate to certain charities because they know it will be advertised in the paper that they donated to this or that. Yet they dont have the time of day for a Caymanian who may be struggling. It is a crying shame and disgrace. No where else in the world does this sort of thing happen!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I am afraid it is too late to change this.
I am a Caymanian born and bred and I am so sick and tired of the insults from some expats. I have no problem with expats but they must show a little respect while they are in a foreign country. I would NEVER in a million years express such rude remarks to a Canadian/American/English citizen if I was working in their country as the blogs they have written over this matter in the last few days. If i did not like what was being proposed I would simply LEAVE the country.
Everyone is crying out about what Cayman has to do to survive etc I dont understand why these people do not return to their country and contibute some of this wonderful advice to their own government!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please go to work and do the job your employer is paying you lots of $$$$ to do!
You sound like that mad-hatter with that blog page. It is clear that you have no idea how businesses operate here. Perhaps you should write a science fiction novel, with your imagination it should be a best seller.
FYI I am a QUALIFIED CAYMANIAN with 30+ years work experience in Cayman, UK, and USA, so I do believe I have a clear picture of what happens in the private sector as I see it unfold first hand every day!!!!!! SO PLEASE be careful when you speak out about things you apparentely have NOT experienced.
Then why are you advocating a policy that would HARM not HELP caymanians – doesn't sound like you know what your talking about – you need to look past your 'hate' it must be clouding your judgment
Mac is kicking the can down the street, I give it 2 years max before the island has a financial crisis, the magnitude that has never been seen or even comprehended before. Keep watching people we are going to be part of history here. Pity – it didn't have to be this way but stupid is as stupid does.
Anyone in cayman that wants a job can get one. Most of the unemployed are just too lazy to work
It is a fact that my business is understaffed by at least 10 people and forget about expanding or advertising for more business I have no one to do the work. the people that do work with me start at 10 an hour with tons of benifits sick days extra money car parts and sometimes a utility bill Not to forget computers clothes weekends at the reef food cigs ect …
I see opprotunity everywhere I look around this place. what happend to those 5 market stalls in boddentown at the beach I bet i could easily make 50k selling garbage out of just one of those yet they are vacant and half finished If i were a local i would of allready set up shop …..
Get a casino allready ,increase tobacco tax and liquor tax and gas tax
and open a mc donalds and a golden corral
sell some marijuana
then you would get somewhere without laying off the civil servants
Pre-Ivan? Has Mckeea forgotten that those same people he now want's to remove housing allowance from wasn't/isn't making a great salary in the first place? well maybe the expat officer's so i've heard, but diffinetly not most of the local officers on the force. Now, dont get me wrong, some of the local officers arent worth their weight in salt, mind you. Is McKeeva going to ask the banks to cut mortage payments in half to allow officer's with familes that's bearly making it on one salary because their spouse cant find a job, because he/she is too qualified? or because an employer goes through the requirements for immigration to do interviews but already has someone lined up for the job from overseas? What's he doing about that? What's that officer going to do when he cant cover his bills on one salary? most of you are going to say "live within your means", so go ahead and say it, but thats bull$h*T. Risk your life for what! 3-3.5K a month?
I'm sorry to say but those 50 new officers will have to go, am sure they have familes as well but they also have some place to go back to. Its a damn shame employment in Cayman is over 8% with over 20k work permits. I guess its ok if one's spouse has to look overseas for work. Are we going to be forced to leave our home country to find work ? one good thing about having a EU passport, i guess we can go elsewhere as sponge of them for a bit.
SORRY NEW GUY, BUT YA GOTTA GO!!
Interesting. The suggestion to cut Police Housing Allowances together with making them pay for medical and pension may cost the average cop about $1000 per month. They always say the society gets the police it deserves so a cut price police force…………………………..?
Hi frustrated Police officer on one salary I am in the same boat. My spouse can't find a job either because of this expat situation hand picking the right people that match their client's culture. I make $5k a month but am supporting three persons and myself. My wife went to school to be a professional not a buger flipper so don't bring that line " I am a making it by the tips of my teeth but with this belt tighting and paying for my spouses medical care is pushing us over the limit. I for one am getting in line for social benefits and throwing my pride out the window. I never think that anyone owes me anything but this is what the Government of this country wants and so this is what I will give them. I suggest you do the same thing and chuck the pride out the window. We are already being held in disdain "for what I don't know" of yeah I do, OUR JOBS. You see where these people are coming from unemployment is high and the climate is misrebel. They now created their paradise in our paradise and it seems in these times it is not enough to share anymore. So greed is going to ruin it for everyone…they so greedy they want all the jobs for F&F and our government will be so greedy to buy our votes that the place will be too expensive. Solution= Government must stop issuing so many permits and send some folks back home because we do have hard working honest people here with no JOBS.'
Well who cares about Cayman getting destoyed..sometimes you got to knock it down to build it over again
Dear Police officer, Sorry to hear about your hardship. If your wife really wants to work in the field of her education, she should keep trying. Do you know that 65% of college graduates in US can't find a job and get 'burger flipping" jobs while still looking for a professional job? Perseverance pays. One who is looking, will always find. On the other hand, your bitterness toward more successful people is not justified. Noone gets anything on a silver plate with a gold rim. They work hard for it. Once, I lived on $20 a week (after all bills were paid) with two children, and my second job was cleaning offices (I was college educated already). We were eating lots of 98cents pizzas those days. Never swallowed my pride though- never asked anyone for help. I am a certified professional now, helping kids to get through college (they both work part time by the way and got student loans). While I am paid well here, 1/2 of the year I work 60-70 hours a week. If you do the math, hourly pay is not that big. I donate weekly to many charities here, volunteer for Hospice, clean beaches and recycle. Do not hate me. We are one. There is a good heart touching song by Ronan Hardiman "That place in your heart”. You tube it.
Walk with me
Break some bread here with me
Enemy
Why can't you live with me?
Who are you?
What did I do to you?
Wish I knew
Why can't I live with you?
We are all born the same
Then we seperate
Then the world falls apart
And blame turns to hate
In reply, some professional fields in cayman are controlled by expats and they will do anything to keep people out of this (their) field (power tripping like MAc). Look at the Lawyers and their blacklist…it goes deeper they have other fields where the gatekeepers are on the wrong side of the fence…Hence, the lawyers just got a nice $7 million dollar tax that they deserved (Limited Partnership Tax). I hope some other on this island are taking close notice..you know who you are…..come here big boy if you want to play power then with power comes cost $$$$ you got to pay to play.
As a business owner I would rather take a some of the CS workers if Govt tried to place these fellow Caymanians with the private sector instead of cutting jobs outright. These CS would have to be willing to work for their pay check though, and the burden of employing them would be far less than any increase in fees and straining an economy that is already barely hanging on.
Now, instead I have to make my own budget cuts to compensate for my increased cost of business.
Dart will soon own the whole lot, even the bigget of Caymanian enterprises will end up strangled. I guess we only have ourselves to blame. We voted him in and allowed him to create this mess for years. now that we finally have to feel it we're all up in arms.
We all should have put up a fight before it was too late.
IT'S NOT ABOUT REVENUE! Without seriously addressing the expenditure side of the balance sheet, the funds raised by these massive tax hikes will simply drop into the bottomless pit of the civil service, or Bush will suddenly feel flush again and start spreading it around via the Nation Building Fund, which I assume continues. Let's chat again — same time next year?
Should we not stop paying the salaries of civil servants whom Bush "laid off" when he came to power but have been receiving pay cheques for sitting at home for the last 3-years? Or is this unreasonable because it would have a detrimental effect on the unemployment figures?
We should stop paying the Premier's salary. If Civil Servants are sent home because he cannot "wuk wid dem", then we really need to examine if its not the Premier who should be sent home, since he doesn't seem to be able to get along with anybody these days.
Bush should be laid off and not paid. It was pure spite that he put these ladies (yes, ALL of them are female) out of a job because he refused to "wok wit" them. Not because they weren't doing their jobs. Political pawns in the UDP chess game.
Pick a number 25 or 50 a month fewer employees than last month total until the books balance? Nobody would even notice the missing staff.Don't announce anything and it stays non-political. Tie fee increases to thier ability to produce actual budgets and accounts.
MR. PREMIER
It is for government to CUT THE WORK PERMITS of these trounblemakers
NOT THE PRIVATE SECTOR!!!!!! When government labor inspectors step in
and do their jobs, then Caymaninswill get a job in their own country.
Regulate the immigration laws, 'CAYMANIANS FIRST"
Restore the true name of that department. The new name has taken on a new role
sending Caymanians to their doom!!!!
Go back to the name of 'CAYMANIAN PROTECTION BOARD"
STOP THIS WORK PERMIT MADNESS
The Civil Service is TOO BIG.
And even though it's TOO BIG, rarely is a telephone answered.
Why is that?
And when a message is left, rarely is a call returned.
Why is that?
Perhaps Solitaire is more of a priority to some. This would be funny if it were not true.
You Civil Service workers that play games on Government time should be fired just like you would be in the Real World.
You know who you are and we know too.
Burden?
Over 50% of Govt Revenue goes to Civil Service payroll. They are slowly drowning us, and yet they still resist payng their share of Health Insurance & Pension.
Who is the burden again?
The Miller Shaw report of 2010 clearly detailed the way forward, without laying off Civil Servants. It did call for pay cuts (including the reversal of the latest cost of living pay rise), contributions to health care and pension. These changes will not be popular with the CS – I would not be happy about it if I was a civil servant, either — but the public sector has already taken this hit – people lost their jobs, they took pay cuts and life moved on. Lower the retirement age. Stop the double-dipping.
The Miller Shaw report also highlights that the Cayman civil service is amongst the highest paid in the world, with some of them making more than the UK prime minister. Reducing everyone back to the going market rate means that no one has to lose their jobs and the social welfare system remains intact over the mid-term until the greater issues can be addressed, such as graduating literate, eager to work students from the public school system that will make good employees in the private sector.
Changes have to be made. The gravy train has run out of steam.
Them is the facts.
Alden finally spoke up today and made a very perceptive comment. If the revenue measures bush has announced prove to be the “Silver Bullet”, then as Minister of Finance why the Hell (my word) couldn’t he have thought of them six months ago. Nothing amongst the ideas represents the equivalent of inventing a new mouse trap. AND how can any of them be guaranteed to be sustainable if the underlying sources, from work permits, property sales, subsequently shrink if/when the new increases are introduced. Still has the appearance of “smoke and mirrors”, with yetanother hidden agenda.
You are absolutely correct, this budget is not sustainable. It's the little boy putting his finger in the dyke.
Given the current reputation of CIG, it should be easy to shed ex-pat civil servants. There are probably many who no longer see this as a credible career-builder and will not want a contract renewal. Buy-outs of ex-pat contracts are also a quick way to downsize. Although they cost $ up-front, they get the real estate market moving through sale of their properties and improve moral of the remaining staff.
Ummmm….who is going to buy their properties? Real estate is dead
Real estate needs to slow down!!!!!!
All the more reason to cut their losses and get out!
Then who will get the actual work done? Wait. That was never an actual priority right? Its all about getting the paycheck.(and improving caymanian moral).
Nobody ever suggests a simple cut in CS PAY. We don’t want, or need, several hundred more people on the street unable to pay mortgages, loans, etc., but I find it inconceivable that members of the CS are utterly incapable of adjusting their lifestyle downwards for a while. If they have indeed committed 100% of there take home pay to big houses, fancy cars, expensive clothes jewelry and holidays, and have no cssh buffer, it displays incredibly poor management of their personal finances. Since 2008, millions of professional people around the World have had to impose austerity measures on themselves and their families – many HAVE actually lost their jobs. Why does the Cayman CS feel that it should be immune to such measures – once again, the old culture of entitlement rears it’s ugly head.
You hit one of the nails squarely on the head. Another nail to hit is the one representing rich civil servants who run their own privates businesses from their government paid office premises. These people run around in government paid cars using gas boy paid fuel not to mention the time they are not doing their government jobs. Why not put in time clocks for govt employees? That way they would only get paid for the time they are working for us rather than for themselves and their own private businesses. I would be willing to bet they would quit their civil service slush fund job in order to keep their businesses running and that would save millions upon millions of dollars.
Yah. And how bout da boats and trailers and $1000 toys.
Here's the root of the problem. Our Premier (no matter who he or she is) has conflicting responsibilites of major proportions by virtue of the model we have had put upon us by our elected officials. On the one hand, McKeeva is an elected politician whose duty is to serve his constituents and help them toward a better life. No Problem, that is what elected officials are supposed to do.
On the other hand, McKeeva wears the hat of Premier and Leader of Government Business. The duties here require that this person look out for the best interest of government which includes making sure there is no waste and that government is run in a fiscally responsible way. This person is the guardian of the body meant to serve all of us regardless of party affiliation. It is a contradiction to have the same person in charge of government business and the finance department to also have access to money he or she can freely give to people for humanitarian reasons. This is what is happening and it should not be allowed. The problem with stopping it is that the politicians devised this system specifically so they can do exactly what they are doing which is wrong. Therefore it is unlikely that any politician will vote to make things different. It may come down to the people having to inititiate a referendum to make the needed changes in order to end this wasteful conflict of interest.
Another way to explaing what this conflict does is to consider that Cayman Companies Law requires that the first and foremost responsibility of a Director of a Cayman Company is to act in the Companies' best interest. All policies and actions of a company are the responsibility of the directors. The best interest of the company comes ahead of shareholder interest and employee interest. If a company director decided that a certain employee needed help paying medical bills and was unable to afford them and decided to take the funds from the company for this purpose it would be considered a humane act by the director but totally illegal by the Companies Law. The director could suffer legal penalties for such an action. This is exactly what is happening with the office of Premier. He cannot claim to be a responsible Leader of Government when he decides to create a Nation Building Fund with our money to give the the needy. It's wrong and should be illegal with stiff penalties to prevent such conflicts in the future.
Did he ever once think that if he performed his duties as leader of government properly and watched out for the best interest of government first and foremost that maybe there would be enough money left as a result of proper management to pass on to Social Services for the humanitarian aid needed.? The way he is doing it stinks of vote buying plain and siimple.
The demonizing of the civil service is unfair and I wish someone reasonable like Wendy would take an objective look at it. It has its share of nail polishers and "she's just stepped away from her desk" – but so does my bank and insurance company!. The civil service consists of loads of people who negative posters to CNS are unaware of -prison officers, police, teachers, garbage collectors. But yes, it also consists of highly paid nobodys and failed civil servants put into "jobs" like the Protocol Office, here and abroad, giving the Premier useless advice and others too numerous to mention. I am a retired civil servant and wish I could name names and positions and outrageous salaries but when i have tried before, CNS has not published my post because it mentioned names. Fair enough. But I recommend someone ask FOI questions about these things. But stop hammering the day to day civil servants who keep the country going.
Broad brush, your initial comment is not totally unreasonable. The issue is the material difference in the stringency of the recruitment systems for Civil Servants, and employees in the Private Sector. Cayman is not unique. Worldwide, the historical attitude of the Private Sector has tended to be, ” Those who can do – those who can’t, become Civil Servants ” – especially in terms of entry level positions. When you compound that with a small community like Cayman and the potential for nepotistic appointments, the situation only gets worse. Thirty odd years ago an apocryphal story was passed around Town that a memo had been circulated to CS’s at the Glass House that, on pain of instant dismissal, nobody was to look out of their window during the morning, because they would have nothing to do in the afternoon. Dreadfully unfair, no doubt, but indicative of the public perception, and perception is the thing of which everyone needs to be wary.
Just re-read the Cayman Islands Council of Associations statement released on August 3d and compare it to the Premier' statements. It is like a rocket scientist and a welder talking about how to built a rocket.
http://www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/2012/08/03/Business-associations-blast-payroll-tax/
The decision not to cut the CS clearly shows that Mac thinks that they are invalids who cannot hold a job in the private sector.
So what is a bigger burden – keeping them or laying them off?
Oh, I thought Mac says he cannot cut them in any event, so why is he claiming that he wont do it?
I’ll hire all dem big sexy women come work for me, don’t you worry
Will create burden?
Isn’t Cayman in severe finacial trouble because of government spending?
Time to make some meaningful cuts Mac!
What a moron!!. Cut the budget or find someone who can, before the UK is doing it for you. No more excuses, make the tough decisions and get on with it already.
Make them go work tourism!
How hard is it really ?
I think the headline is incomplete. It should read "CS cuts would creat a burden to a few and a great burden lifted from the shoulders of many.
Now i'm confused when i read last paragraph
http://centos6-httpd22-php56-mysql55.installer.magneticone.com/o_belozerov/31115drupal622/politics/2012/08/02/mac-attacks-officials
How can Mac refuse to cut CS jobs ? when he claims that he dosen't hire nor fire ?
Mr. Bush – if you don't believe that you can do 500 at one stop, but appear to agree that there are too many civil servants, why not create a long term plan: eliminate 50 jobs per year for "x" number of years. That would be better than nothing! We were looking to hire 3 accountants last year and did not have one Caymanian applicant. We advertised repeatedly and called many contacts (DER, UCCI, colleagues) trying to find Caymanian applicants. I can guarantee you that I would much rather hired three Caymanian accountants so that I could have avoided approx $50K USD in work permit fees for those three accountants.
The real roblem is they don't deserve the paychecks they are demanding. In the real world if you can't perform or show actual benifit to the company it only makes business sense to cut them. In the real world a business that has so many doing so little would not survive the first year and that is how it should be. Welcome to the real world like it or not. No one wants to work harder so they can continue not to. They are walking away with whatever training and experiance they have gained and what ever they have put aside. Just like the rest of us. If Grand Cayman cannot stop the extreme wast that is CIG it is done. Just like every other poorly run business in the world with this economy.
I don't think that these statements apply to everyone in government. Most of them are at the bottom of the barrell working their butts off while their bosses take the praises.
Most general statements do not apply to everyone. It is also not to hard to see that it is the bosses and managers that are the main drain of funds in the CS and the main reason it cost $100 to get $10 of work done in the CS. $10 for the worders and all the rest for the his boss and the other 3 bosses above him.
Actually I kind of agree. It's all too easy for us expats to say sack them all, but you can't just lay off 500 locals even if they're jobs aren't necessary. If they can't get employment in the private sector those people and their dependants are going to be a liability, and if they do get employment in the private sector then work permit holders will get displaced which also means less work permit revenue.
It's unfortunate that the CS has become a defacto welfare scheme, but the solution is not to throw the Caymanians into the street. There is plenty of fat to trim from government spending without resorting to that, although it's clear that a hiring freeze is necessary.
The expats gleefully calling for mass layoffs are no better than the Caymanians clapping cheering for the expat tax.
You may want to read the the Cayman Islands Council of Associations statement, they addressed this.
I kind of agree too, but rather than laying off 500, why not cut the rediculously inflated salaries most of them get.
I appreciate the objectivity in the previous comment. That said, explain our current situation to any primay school child and he or she would agree that any reduction to the CS or the private sector expat work force will be a hardship for someone. Why the Premier feels a need to say that escapes me.
As the lone voice of our governement, McKeeva leaves no stone unturned to make clear what he thinks of the rank and file Caymanian. We are simply to know our place, to live and behave subservient to anything he promotes. We are reduced to a people of "little girls", incapable of thinking for ourselves. Such an insulting negative viewpoint in governance is….. anti Caymanian.
So where do we go from here?
The arguement flip flops – reduce CS, reduce the number of work permits in private sector. I would say it is far more complex than that. The financials of these islands areCRITICAL, no question. Let's get real, any solution CANNOT be one or the other. Any solution which is sustainable will be felt on both side of the economy in some way.
The current situation which this govenrment HAS itself created with the mention of an income tax for expats is firmly entrenched in our history books now. It has broadened a division which is destructive and very harmful for all that our Islands are about, locally and internationally. Taking it off the table in many ways is irrelevant as the damage has been done. It has pit Caymanians agianst Expats, created fear in the hearts of everyone. Let's get real, our community does not have a single extended family unit which, if it looks at itself, does not have expat members.
The time has come to deal with harsh relaities – the Civil Service is too large for the islands to support financially and remain sustainable for the longer term. However, the current political reality mitigates against that change. Between Ministers dictating: 1) who you cannot retire (when legally they should be), 2) who you MUST hire (and you know won't produce), 3) new projects which demand increase in personnnel, the CS is a genuine mess. Then there is that matter of "entitlement", an unspoken yet entrenched view in the Service.
The authority to make change to personnel numbers in the CS does NOT lie with the Governor. Ministers sit in ministeries each day and dictate the 3 points above with out regard to and, usually inspite of professional opinions offered. There are senior Civil Servants (past and present) who are very smart,hard working, dedicated and most if not all are brow beaten. Just look at what the esteemed Premier had as his first offical duty back in 2009 – immediatley send home some senior officers ….just because he could! Btw that continues…….
So, to say he worries about impacts on people in the CS, he has Absolutely no concern for any of them. He is speaking drivel for votes next May as always.
On the matter of reduction of work permits. It is a vexed issue that we Caymanians jump on as THE soloution when governemnt financies are in problems. Sadly to say, it is not the single solution. There are may of you who could regale us with all that is wrong wih expats and what they are or, are not doing well in our country. Let's get it clear, our companies (legally set up here) advertized and hence they got here. Is the system perfect? NO.
My solution – Government needs to produce a long term economic plan with sustainable outcomes for the Cayman Islands towards 2020 within which they develop a detailed 3 year plan "Establishing national stability as a development priority". This plan MUST take a hard line on difficult issues, capture an international perspective, demonstrate a willingness to look around the world where there are best practices and consider how they might be helpful in the design. Finally, be developed with a willingness by the political directorate to actually embrace the incredible professional capacity both within and outside of the CS in our islands. Once confimed, work the plan, hard as some of the straetgies will be. Nothing good comes easy.
The 3 year plan must address:
1. Financial forecasts for the next 3 years which MUST include reduction of the CS. It must include stricter management of post secondary training both at home and overseas. The revenue package of CIG must be objectively reviewed and overhauled such that it reflects a planned approach for realistic funding of the 3 year term with an eye to the longer term. Review of government services outsourcing as an option. Work permit fees should not simply be seen as a revenue measure. The matter of a national human capital strategy is sorely overdue. It is thru a reasoned strategic approch that the human capital needs of the islands can be determined and a focused process set down to challenge Caymanians to not just achieve high levels of training but to recognize that no matter the job level it is a good work ethic, committment to building your reputation as a solid professional and a good personal attitude which creates the best potiential for success. Such a strategic approach would help to support the reduction of work permits. Problem is that if you get the training overseas ( fully paid by govt) and then come back and are up front you will not put in the time to earn your spot but wants to be a Senior Manager with perks next week…..what you think? Attitude. We Caymanians DO have an entitlement mentality in the main, that is a huge part of our current crisis.
2. This econoimic plan must include fully aligned strategies to promote an inclusive society of Caymanians and non Caymanians living in harmony. A recognition that the absence of a balanced focus on social growth as a society in favour of material growth over the past 35 years has led to a mindset of materialsim as an indicator of worth. A reduction in material and social handouts and a messaging of recapturig the virtues of our forefathers "work hard, have a good attitude and above all be honest"
I appreciate that this second point will be derided by many. If we want to find peace of mind in the Cayman Islands, let's not wait for Warren Buffett to give us a couple billion to fix our finances now. Let get clear that it's about balancing the books yes, but about a very new sort of positive national attitude as a society which will promote the sustainable future we need. Let's get clear we have hard times ahead.
Let be clear also folks, the likes of Mckeeva come and go.
If, we the people don't take our heads out of wherever we have had them stuck for decades and look up, accept that if we don't turn out to vote, if we don't attend forums like the one held recently by Generatoin NOW, if we don't ensure that we are fully informed on all aspects of national issues, readopt a kinder, gentler stance to living, working and breathing in these Islands, then the present is but a small dose of the future.
We hold the choices in our hands, not Mckeeva. Our future is NOT about Mckeeva…..it is about the things we determine we must do because we value a good quality of life in these Cayman Islands. In many respects it is just this simple. It is about EACH of us.
McKeeva is an incompetent of monumental proportions…
he is not prepared to make any cuts himself or make cs cuts or give up his slush funds wtf — so he just going pass on cost to rest of us!
I hope the UK refuses this idiotic scheme also.
Caymanians, unna got to frigging do better with these morons you keep electing, just cuz they went sunday school and like to give you a free-nees, a fridge or whatever –
these people have no business experience, are barely educated and couldnt work anywhere else so they do everythingthey can to line their pockets and give favors to stay elected: so big developers with financial saavy come along they can run circles around them in a negotation and contract and make a killing… I dont blame Dart for making a good business deal for himself…we elected idiots who dont know anything about the complex reka estate and financing structures and vehicles to negotiate on our behalf – and they get the bad end of the deal because they are constantly out of their depth
XXXXX
Caymanians, this is your own fault. You got the government you deserved by "woting strait" and electing dummies, well take it now — Cayman is FINITO
Without knowing all the implausible numbers that we should have, let's start with trimmingthe obvious fat: reversing the 40% payroll raise the MLAs voted to give themselves and elminate the preposterous loopholes that permit serving public servants on the public payroll to simulataneously draw a monthly pension check. That alone would secure the Police Helicopter at their current annual rate (which seems far too high). Perhaps nobody in CIG needs to be let go, but let's first dig into the big known line items instead of blindly accepting them as legitimate expenses.
Is there a centre that teaches unemployed Caymanians how to write a basic resume/CV, how to apply to job advertisements, how dress for an interview, how to prepare for an interview and present yourself etc? I believe in a lot of cases, the quality of applications on this island comes across as being less than suitable due to a deficiency in these basic skills. If there is a centre or facility currently set up to work with those seeking employment, why isn't it promoted more heavily? If there is no such resource then it is obvious that this gap needs to be filled. I am sure there are plenty of people with experience who would volunteer to assist in a mentor type capacity to help the unemployed gain employment. Just a thought from someone who hears disappointing sighs coming from the office HR department.
Yes there is a center the Human Capital Development Agency or whatever they are calling themselves these days they used to be part of DER and brilliantly they are not even located in the Government building but anyone can go there and register for jobs and in one two hour presentation many of us were told how wonderful their new computer system would be in matching employer needs to job seekers and how there would be skill assessment testing and training for those who needed to brush up on skills and assistance with resume writing and dressing appropriately and mentoring on how to interview and lo and behold what 8 or 9 months later you can’t even get someone there to answer the phone or return an email when you are flat out trying to find a Caymanian to place in a job and you are willing to train them. I am a Caymanian and in HR and I am appalled at what I see and what walks through my door IF I can get anyone to apply!
Another day another load of UDP mindless rhetoric and failure
"Bush also defended the money going to churches as he said it was to help them build hurricane shelters, which was cheaper than government funding those projects, and added that the Nation Building Fund was about the future of young people and keeping them out of jail." I like that. I never opposed the Nation Building Fund. I thought it was badly misrepresented by the media and opinion writers who twisted the facts. The money going to the churches would translate to shelters and social programs that government in its own accord could never maintain, because of cost. These are needed things for our children and the public as well. People were condemning ministers, saying the government was buying votes, but what government doesn't buy votes?
Let's be honest, there are very few facts or disclosures to twist. We just want to know and see where OUR CASH was deployed. Submit the expense sheet and make it public – what is there to hide?
Lots, apparently… A veritable pandoras box of trickery that will come out on e day….
For all the millions they took, only 2 of these churches even have an afetr-school programme to keep kids off the streets and away from harm.
The Churches took the money but do NOT do any social programmes, they just prettified their buildings with paint and shelters. Government is STILL paying social services for 8,000 people — so what are you talking about???
Further, there were only 20 'scholarships' given from nation building – most of the $$$ went to churches for free — so what are you TALKING about??
PLUS government also is paying for its regular scholarship programme on top — so….WHAT is this for other than to buy votes!
Shut up please!
I agree. Who got this Nation Building scholarship? I didn't know about it till the deadline was passed. As for schloarships, maybe we can start not givingthem to rich people. If the parents can afford it, then save the schloarships for the parents who can't afford to send their children to college.
The churches are outside the legal reach of the Auditor General; too bad, an audit report would make interesting reading.
I wonder if God is an auditor? Or, perhaps, St. Peter who is standing at the pearly gates.
If that was what the money was being used for wouldn'tthere be proof? Like at least one Church sponsered hurrican shelter for use by ALL the "nation"? And because education (real kind) would be the best strategy against future crime by youth why was all the money spent on friends and family building and building and building the schools (and none left to pay the teachers of the kids. But hea! My people be workin an workin. Bush your actions speak very clearly. Your words are like fog that hides its true nature from the many fools that be workin and workin and workin. Enough. Time for CIG to start living in the same world as the rest of us. And time for Caymanians to look beyond the next handout to what kind of future awaits the future citizens of this island. If they don't know how to work they will learn to beg.
so true, and they can use those top of the range Tahoes and Escalades they bought with the funds to assist getting around the island to help people after the storm.
so which church is also a hurricane centre?
The real problem is that if these civil servants are let go they would then be expected to do work in the private sector. To perform work in the private sector you must show up on time, have the neccessary skills, and actually work.
I highly suspect that most of these "workers" have the desire or skills that the private sector demands.
We should look at what positions that need to be cut from the CS and freeze work permits for those roles until those persons are employed.
When I begin to see Caymanians, not Jamaicans (1) picking up my garbage, (2) servers at the Lone Star & Carlos and Martins and (3)check out cashiers at Fosters Food Fair……then I will believe we can't cut the Civil Service. The entitlement mentality supported by our gas-bag politicans will be the death of Cayman.
did you mean gas-bag or was it supposed to be gas-boy. Gas Bag is fine, I was just wondering.
This is it in a nut-shell.
The other issue with ex-pat workers is that they are only there because, in general terms, a Caymanian-owned business chose to hire them over a Caymanian, applied to the Caymanian-run labour board for approval of a permit, and then paid the work permit fee to the Cayman government. But, it is the fault of the ex-pat that they have taken a job from a Caymanian…
The mind boggles.
And that is what I have been saying, but been looked upon with scorn by those who have well paid jobs… Any expat that came here to get what they can get, any employer that came here to extort and discriminate, could care less if our children, depended on mother or father to develop. Their hearts are not here but elsewhere. They would be elated to see so many locals on the streets without jobs. That is when they can use them.
why doesn't the government offer continuing 60% salaries to 300 CS workers on the basis that they don't show up to work again (I am betting 300 will accept) then we save 40% of salary costs and don't have topay for office space, a/c, equipment etc.
They don't turn up or do any work anyway so they'll probably say no thanks!
You have got to be kidding…
"Cutting too many jobs from the civil service would create further burdens for government coffers because the private sector would not be willing to give up enough work permits" – On that note, the Premier is correct. If the private sector is not providing jobs for the many Caymanians unemployed as we speak, how then can they provide for 200, 300, 400 or 800 additional Caymanians?
"…it would be too damaging to too many people…"
Income tax is damaging, but of course taxing expats doesn't count because they are not people.
Yup, it is a tribal thing.
"…not…vote buying but said it was about helping Caymanians."
Yup, helping Caymanians who are also voters. Funny, that.
”…cuts would also impact spending in the economy."
Hmmm, I wonder what he thinks higher fees and higher taxes do?
The C.S. should not be a support mechanism for the unemployed. It seems to be if you cannot get a job – government will give you one. Thats not how the C.S. should be working.
Overstaffing does nothing to encourage people to work hard, or seek better qualifications in order to be more employable. Put in place a proper unemployment benefit system that does NOT give them a good salary and a comfortable life – and do not make it open ended – say you get 9 months of unemployment benefits and then it ends. Period. If people are uncomfortable enough, they will get off their lazy asses and seek a job to better themselves. Or take some courses to better themselves.
As it is, all these people overstaffing the C.S. have no motivation to move on and better themselves. They remain a burden to the C.S. and to this island. And we cannot afford it.
"…if public sector workers lost their jobs and were unable to find employment in the private sector they would still be a burden on the public purse as government had an obligation to take care of its own people. “These are humans who have been given a contract,” he said, also pointing out the loss of spending power in the economy."
I am sure that the cost of the burden on the public purse due to being unemployed will be way less than the cost of paying salary, health insurance and pension right now. So in the end a significant saving could still be made for each employee laid off but unable to find alternative employment.
We in the private sector are also humans who have been given contracts, many of which have been ended and us made redundant, others have had no raise (or cost of living enhancement as the CS call it) for years, no bonus hours/holiday/pay cut, and all the time the cost of living and utilities going up. We're human too – or doesn't that matter because you can't count on our votes as easily as you can the CS votes?
Don't get me wrong, Idon't want anyone to end up unemployed, but the government, and moreso the public purse, IS NOT a charity, and continue to treat it as such, and everyone will end up losing in the end. You got to be cruel to be kind.
Jeeze Mac, you need me to spell out where the cuts need to come?
1. YOU take a meaningful pay cut – like 30% – LEAD BY EXAMPLE
2. All of the other politicians take a meaningful pay cut
3. STOP flying around the world first class with all these followers – its expensive
4. No more subsidies for Cayman Airways – it needs to be financially viable and stand by itself.
5. Properly manage the gas card system
6. Pay for your own cook, cleaner, chef and driver
7. Pay your own utilitys – I have to – why can't you?
8. Close the "Nation Building Fund" and give whats left back to the general reserves
9. Stop the unaccounted spending – tighten up on the management of OUR money
10. Examine how many VEHICLES the CS has. Do we really need them ALL?
There is so much that could be done without even needing to let anyone go – altough that seriously needs to happen too.
Big Mac,
Why dont you at least cut the big salaries in the CS down to reasonable levels? Some people who are not doing much are making over CI$200,000. Im sure they could survive and thrive on less.
Soon the enitre island will be on welfare if EXPENDITURE IS NOT CUT!!!!
How the f**k can you keep increasing everything without making cuts?
Significant cuts were made? The budget fiugre i saw the other day, $592M was larger than last years.
The CS is supposedly an employer, not a welfare provider. The government can't expect the private sector to pay more unless the government also makes an effort to tightens its belt. We've all heard the stories about what goes on during the average work day in the CS. Those employees that have been unproductive for solong have had a very nice ride, but now its time to get off.
They're not stories. For the most part, they're for real, although I don't deny there's also some damn good workers in the CS too – just too few. Also too many chiefs and not enough Indians. Cut the chiefs, cut the indians where they don't cut it at work, and cut the bigwigs salaries – espeically your own Mac. You guys are paid way too much for what you do (or don't do to be more accurate).
Finally a reasonably well made point, however it misses the prime issue. Cayman cant afford the Civil service in its current form, and cannot afford to raise new revenue by increasing any taxes in an already very expensive place.
The answer still has to be reducing the civil service and making it more efficient. That creates an environment in which people want to invest. It also has to be perhaps reducing work permits numbers in positions that those Caymanian civil servants who would lose their jobs could qualify for jobs (and I mean really qualify for, other wise it will be another tax in all but name to private enterprise). Finally freeing up other restrictions on local company ownership and other restrictions to bring in more investment will create even more jobs.
A package is needed, and this place could become competitive and restore its previous position in the world.
It probably needs also a public declaration or clarified law to state no direct taxes can be imposed for at least next 30 years in order to bring back those investors scared off by this last shambles.
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!
Heard it all before, makes about as little sense this time as it on all the previous occasions.
duh!
For once, I am incline to agree to most of his reasoning.
I don't think it's really appropriate to refer to last night's event at Mary Miller Hall as a "public meeting" when no member of the public was allowed to speak or pose any questions.
I prefer it this way, because everytime people speak and don't know the facts, it gets in the press and it makes everybody look bad and ignorant. So I prefer people just listen until this whole budget fiasco is done and maybe there will be a meeting with better educated questions. The meeting we had Wednesday last, was an embarassment. Not only did some of the replies to the question embarrassed me, but some of the shallow questions and remarks made as well from those attending. And then what made it worse, it was live so Bermuda and other countries could see