Dwight Nelson, the minister in the finance ministry who has responsibility for public sector employment, is under-standably skittish, at this time, about committing the administration to either slashing state jobs or freezing salaries as part of the effort of dealing with Jamaica's fiscal problems.

For, as Mr Nelson says, any action taken by the Government has first to be negotiated with the trade unions that represent the workers. And he being a labour leader before entering the Cabinet 20 months ago, Mr Nelson is keenly aware of the potential dangers of seeming to disrespect unions. Moreover, he would likely wish to resume his leadership roles in the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions, should his ministerial career come to an end anytime soon.

Nimble efforts

But despite his, so far, nimble efforts at assuaging unions, Mr Nelson has in recent days been able to send a clear signal that, given the fiscal constraints, public sector workers cannot expect their situation to continue as it is. However, Mr Nelson must soon go further, making it plain that - unlike early in the decade when he led the negotiations from the other side of the table and unions offered exchanged wage restraint for employment security - jobs will have to be cut in the public sector. The point is that not only can the Government ill-afford to carry its wage bill, but the public sector is bloated and inefficient and inherently debilitating to growth. It is stumbling over itself.

Formally, the central government's establishment ought to be 40,000 jobs but, as Mr Nelson acknowledged this week, it now employs more than 100,000. Many of those jobs, frankly, are meaningless, with employees offering little real value for their salaries which, admittedly, in may instances are not great.

But the aggregate of the steroids in the civil service is expensive. For example, the Government at the start of the fiscal year allocated $107 billion, or 21.5 per cent of the budget, for wages. Mr Nelson now says that bill will be close to around $111 billion, up five per cent. According to Mr Nelson, wages in the coming fiscal year will rise another seven per cent, pushing the overall bill to around $118 billion.

Examine all options

Public sector wages rivals overall spending on sectors such as education, health and national security. This, as Mr Nelson pointed out, is unsustainable. "The Government is going to have to examine all options as to how to ensure that the public sector wage bill is contained, develops greater efficiencies (and) becomes more competitive," he said.

The last time there was consensus on this point, political expediency trumped good economic sense and rather than cutting 15,000 jobs, wages were frozen for two years before resuming a new round of growth. There were no efficiency gains in the public sector. The same will happen if the old tack is followed.

This time the public sector must be culled, starting with the transfer of willing and qualified people in overstaffed departments to where they are needed.

If the Government, as expected, is going to come up with new tax measures at Budget time, it must first show its willingness to put its own house in order.

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