Political analyst Dr Bishu Ragoonath believes the SRC’s recommendation to increase the salaries of the country’s top public officials can only be viewed as obscene and the Government may face a pushback from the population.
Ragoonath was giving his take on the recommendations.
“The fact that public servants were given a four per cent pay hike over six years, it could be seen as obscene that the Prime Minister and they would take a 30 per cent while they call on the population at large to hold strain,” he said.
Ragoonath said the offer the Government put on the table for public sector employees “this is hardly one that I think would get the vast support of the population.”
He said seeing that Parliamentarians would be the beneficiaries of the SRC’s recommendations “they may seek their interest. They may put themselves first instead of the country first.”
While Cabinet has to accept the recommendations, Ragoonath said, it would have to come to Parliament for a vote which would require a simple majority.
“The Prime Minister and the Cabinet can easily come out tomorrow morning and say the SRC has done their work but we are not accepting it. In like manner, you have to give the Government credit that the Regulated Industries Commission came up with a recommendation to increase the electricity rates and it has not yet been accepted.”
Unable to say what metric the SRC used to arrive at the proposed increase, Ragoonath said “clearly we don’t have that type of information so we can not chastise them.”
Sharing his thoughts, economist Ronald Ramkissoon said the recommendation could have come at a time to woo competent public sector workers leading up to the next general election.
With the 2025 general election drawing closer, Ramkissoon said “If this is what we might see coming down the road, it is quite possible, we might be able to encourage, perhaps, some more competent citizens to offer themselves up for public service,” he surmised.
The 98th SRC’s report was approved before the 2015 general election.
“We are a small country ... we want the best and the public service is a very critical area,” he added.
Ramkissoon said public sector performance and compensation are not something that should be sensationalised.
“Unfortunately some of that is going to happen.”
He said public sector compensation must serve to encourage more capable citizens.
Ramkissoon, however, noted that any pay increase in the public sector “will be unpopular at this time.”