The hiring of contract workers

Dec 14, 2018 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

There seems to be a clear case of abuse in the hiring of contract workers by the current APNU-AFC administration. Apart from a significant increase in the numbers of contract workers, they are also paid salaries way above those in the regular public service, even though in several instances qualifications and experience cannot justify such emoluments.
One consequence of such high salaries, apart from putting pressure on the treasury, is a serious distortion of the remuneration system in the public sector, which is heavily skewed in favour of contract employees.
Such is the level of distortion that drivers and other unskilled categories employed on contract terms in several agencies earn considerably more than technical officers with university degrees. In addition to basic salaries which in some cases are over a million dollars per month, there are also gratuity payments and other allowances which when taken together, add up to a princely sum.
Why should such huge income disparities exist between contract and non-contract workers?
At the end of the day, we all buy at the same market where prices for consumer goods and services do not discriminate between low and high income earners! Is it a case of ‘what is sauce for the goose is not sauce for the gander?’
The employment of contract workers should not be seen as an opportunity to reward ‘party faithful’ as seems to be the case. Instead, it should be judiciously used, as intended, to hire skills which are not otherwise available on the labour market.

Hydar Ally

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