Mar 26 - NASUWT Comments On Government HR Restructure
The local branch of the teachers’ union GTA/NASUWT says that after the recent news reports regarding the possible restructure of Government Human Resources Department and the positioning of its other union colleagues, it is important to state what its views are on the matter. The union says it has 500 members working in Government schools, all of whom are civil servants and all of whom use the Government Human Resources Department. NASUWT says that the fact that civil servants are not only clerical and admin workers is often overlooked. After all, it notes, the current Chief Secretary was a teacher.
NASUWT says it has been making representations for a restructure of the Human Resources Department to Government for over a decade. The union says that, as many of Gibraltar’s public services have become quasi-independent authorities, supposedly working independently but still employing civil servants, the Government Human Resources Department has shed a great deal of their own human resources but have still had to manage these civil servants as well as personnel from the GDC and other Government-owned companies.
NASUWT says that it is a misnomer that all the Human Resources Department does is manage the appointment of new personnel. In addition, the department has to write and manage policy, manage grievance and disciplinary issues, keep up with new laws and developments, offer induction programs etc. NASUWT says that it therefore makes sense that the Human Resources Department adapts and is restructured to manage these needs and is able to have the manpower to operate efficiently.
In the absence of a functional Gibraltar Trades Council to deal with issues like these, NASUWT says that it is also regrettable that its colleagues in the GDC are “being caught in this crossfire and are being treated in a way that implies that they as a second class workforce.” The GTA/NASUWT says it firmly believes in ensuring that all policies are put into place to guarantee that the right person is always chosen for the right job.
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