The Portfolio of the Civil Service (PoCS) recently released its 2011/12 Annual Human Resources Report which contains statistical information on employees and human resources activity within core Government and the wider Public Service inclusive of Statutory Authorities and Government Owned Companies (SAGCs) for the financial year ending 30 June 2012.

As at the 2011/12 financial year end (FYE), there were 3,639 civil servants in core Government of which 73% are Caymanian and 27% are non-Caymanian. During this same period, there were 2,262 employees within the SAGCs of which 76% are Caymanian and 24% are non-Caymanian.

In comparison to the prior year, the overall size of the public service grew marginally by 91 employees.  Core government accounted for 20 additional employees and SAGCs for 71 additional employees or 78% of the increase in the wider Public Service. At the FYE June 2012, staff within core Government comprised 62% of the wider Public Service and SAGC’s accounted for 38% of the Public Service.

Within core Government, the minor increase can be mainly attributed to the policy decision to hire some 50 additional police officers following a spate of serious crimes.  Overall, all but 4 Ministries and Portfolios saw staff reductions or maintained the same staffing levels during the period.  Of those 4 Ministries and Portfolios which experienced growth, 3 are law enforcement related – namely the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs, Judicial Administration and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

When taking a longer term view, a 5-year analysis shows headcounts within core Government dropping by approximately 200 staff for the period Sept 2008 –Jun 2012, as a consequence of the adoption of the Recruitment Moratorium in October 2008 which requires all requests to fill vacancies, add posts or renew fixed term contracts be first vetted by the PoCS and ultimately approved by the Deputy Governor.  In contrast, during the 5-year period leading up to the Moratorium (Jan 2003- Sept 2008) the service had grown by over 700 employees.

Commenting on the 2011/12 Annual HR Report, the Deputy Governor the Hon. Franz Manderson said, “The Report shows that while we experienced minimum staff growth in 2011/12, over the past 5 years we have continued to make steady progress to decrease the size of the service through natural attrition while still facilitating policy priorities of the government such as public safety, education and good governance as illustrated in initiatives such as the Freedom of Information and the adoption of the Bill of Rights. The results are gradual but tangible.”

He added, “Moving forward any effort to accelerate the pace of decreasing the size of the wider Public Service will require policy decisions to both streamline the range of services government provides and to tackle HR and other costs associated with SAGCs.  In core Government, we have virtually exhausted efforts to do more with less and the questions which currently loom are what services, if any, is the community and government willing to discontinue. We also need to work more closely with the various arm’s length bodies, that is SAGCs, as they join our efforts to reduce costs and improve efficiency”.

Other key data contained in the 2011/12 Annual Report reveals the civil service is a diverse organization.  While 73% of employees are Caymanians, overall the civil service as at 30th June 2012 was comprised of 37 different nationalities with the largest percentage of non-Caymanian employees coming from Jamaica (12%), the United Kingdom (5%), and Canada, Barbados and the USA (each representing just under 2%).

The average age in the service is 42 years and approximately 4% of the service is over the age of 60 years.  In terms of gender demographics, just over half or 52% of the service are women.  Of the top 3 salary grades (ie Grades A to C) for positions such as Deputy Governor, Financial Secretary, Puisine Judges and Chief Officers 64% of the positions are held by men and 36% by women.  Other executive salary grades (ie Grades D to G) for positions such as Deputy Chief Officer, Heads of Department and Deputy Heads of Department are more evenly held with 52% held by men and 48% by women.  In middle and junior management, women have a slight edge at 52% women and 48% men.  For wage workers, men again dominate the higher pay ranges, where 95% of employees at Grade GDD to GFF were male.  At the most senior salary grades (A&B), 67% of the service are Caymanians.  Other executive salary grades (ie, C-G), 69% of the service are Caymanians.

In terms of salaries (exclusive of the value of medical and pension benefits), over half (52%) of the civil service earn less than $40,000 per year and 73% earn less than $50,000 per year. Some 28% of the service is on the lowest point in the applicable salary grade and 71% are below the mid-point of their grade.

The Chief Officer of the PoCS, Mrs. Gloria McField-Nixon commenting on the demographics of the civil service said, “The year’s results are a mixed bag.  In terms of Caymanian representation within the civil service, we pride ourselves in the fact that this continues to remain high with over 70% of our talent being Caymanian.  As a national policy-setting institution it is crucial that we lead by example in ensuring Caymanians have ample opportunities to be hired, developed and promoted and to contribute to the policy and legislative framework which governs this society.”

She added, “The Report also highlights the need to re-examine our remuneration strategy including several intended short-term austerity measures such as the salary cut of 3.2% first introduced in 2010, elimination of annual increments since 2002 and most recently a ban on all within-grade salary increases.  Such policies while intended to be short-term have persisted over the long to medium term and are resulting in pay stagnation as evidenced by the fact that almost one in three staff (including long serving employees) are on the lowest possible pay point within their salary grade and 7 in 10 are below the midpoint. This trend presents challenges to staff retention and morale, particularly in technical roles where competition is particularly strong.  This review will have to be done while still balancing the requirement to comply with overall budget constraints.”

Employee Information and Human Resources Activity for the Civil Service

December 2012

This report is written for the Deputy Governor and Head of the Civil Service for tabling in the Legislative Assembly. It contains information about key statistics and trends impacting human resources within the Civil Service and wider Public Service. Section one {PS Demographics) provides information on the demographics of the Public Service at the 30th June 2012.   Section two  {Demeg CS, DG1 – DG9) provides information on the demographics of the core Civil Service at the 30th June 2012, addressing a range of issues including the size of the service and Caymanianisation of the work force at both Ministry, Portfolio and Departmental level.  Section three (DG10 -15) provides information on a range of human resources activities such as recruitment and retention covering the fiscal year 2011/12.

Each page of the report presents data relating to different aspects of human resources management, with a brief accompanying commentary on the data.

The data within this report relating to the Civil Service has been taken from the Cayman Islands Government central HR database {HRIRIS). Statistics relating to the wider Public Service have been drawn from self-reported data provided by each respective Statutory Authority and Government Owned Company. Consequently, only limited data is available centrally on HR statistics and trends within Statutory Authorities and Government Owned Companies.

Once presented to Cabinet, the report and its contents will be tabled in the Legislative Assembly and in accordance with the Freedom of Information Law 2007, will be published electronically on the website for the Portfolio of the Civil Service at http://www.pocs.gov.ky

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