Premier Reuben Meade
But based on performance, then goes to Dubai and EU in Brussels to seek investors and financing
Premier and Minister of Finance, the Hon. Reuben T. Meade has on at least two occasions, publicly guaranteed that while civil servants are unlikely to receive a salary increase in the immediate future, there is a good chance they will get a bonus at the end of this financial year.
In the first instance at the beginning of the year, while forecasting economic growth for 2013, even though with uncertainty, he said, “And if the economy in fact makes that turn around I think I can say it now publicly, if we generate any form of surplus in 2013 a portion of that will be given back to the public servants.”
“So that it may not be a salary increase but it could possibly be a bonus at the end of the year,” as he cautioned, “we just want everybody to continue working hard.”
The Premier, who just took a team to Dubai to seek investors with respect to the port development of Carrs Bay and Little Bay, was upbeat then, as he encouraged, “let us put our backs to the wall, it’s our country. We are the ones who must develop this country so that all of us, our children, our grandchildren, visitors, Montserratians overseas, will see that we can do it.”
On another occasion as he made similar pronouncements he had even more cautions and warnings, that not everyone will likely get the bonus on their salaries, but he had been holding discussions with Montserrat’s budgetary supporters DFID (UK Department for International Development).
He was speaking during the budget debate. “There are still ongoing negotiations with DFID in terms of additional funding,” he told the Legislative Assembly, giving a hint that the budget was an incomplete one.
“We expect to have a Supplementary Appropriation bill later in the year when those funds are agreed and the negotiations are completed,” he said.
He then continued with provisos and conditions. “But, I want to give the civil servants that assurance, Madam Speaker, that performance bonus is a performance bonus and it is dependent on improved outputs and performance. You can only get performance bonus if you’re performing,” he warned.
He noted the category of people to whom he was directing his comments, saying, “Habitual late comers, persons who are habitually absent from work without sufficient reason or cause, and general poor performers will be excluded from such bonus payments,” adding that this will be, “prorated on the basis of their performance evaluation.”
In the end, what public servants see as a dampener to his promise, he said it all depended on if the civil service keeps on improving its performance. “And we do not run into deficits caused by poor financial management – and revenues improved, we may be in a position to give a performance bonus at the end of 2013, 2014 fiscal period,” he concluded.
