An internal communication from the Office of the Deputy Governor has confirmed that Montserrat’s Cabinet has “in principle” approved revised working hours for the public service.
The memorandum, dated 16 January and signed by Deputy Governor Lindorna Sweeney, states that the proposal is still in the consultation phase and that talks are ongoing.
The document which was posted on a popular public Facebook page does not detail what the revised hours are.
“The Office of the Deputy Governor is currently conducting extensive discussions with various stakeholders to evaluate how these changes might impact public service operations and specific sectors,” it reads.
“This process is critical for developing well-informed recommendations on the most suitable working arrangements.”
Currently the public service working hours are from 8am to 4pm. The document clarifies that there is no intention to start revised working hours on 1 February.
“We kindly ask for your patience as we continue to finalise the necessary details before presenting our recommendations to Cabinet,” the memorandum reads.
“Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we work towards an outcome that serves the best interests of the public service.”
The memorandum is addressed to the attorney general, acting financial secretary, acting auditor general, permanent secretaries and heads of departments.
Somebody please tell the Governor to take her half baked idea with her to her next assignment.
No extensive discussions with stakeholders was taking place. The first time public servants and the business community knew about this was from the Deputy governor’s memo.
Allowing flexibility in working hours for some staff is okay in principle, but the staggered working hours being proposed makes very little sense, and would not improve tardiness.
Montserrat’s problems cannot be solved by people arriving at work on time for a 9am start.
We have much bigger issues to deal with, so forget this pointless initiative.
Civil servants are now under threat because someone supposedly leaked the document referred to in your article.
The fact that an issue that was sent to 900 plus government employees and supposed to be extensively discussed with various stakeholders is now considered to be a leak with international implications and a cyber security threat is rather strange. Make that make sense.
Editor,
You may see something of national interest at this link.
https://www.eccourts.org/cause-list-27th-to-31st-january-2025-for-justice-brian-cottle-ag
Many thanks for sharing the link. I’ve reviewed the list and I’ll follow up with the court.