EVERY EFFORT IS being made to improve the system of payment for substitute public workers.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of the Civil Service, Ron Fitt, gave this assurance to the
WEEKEND NATION.

He said Government would seek to pay the workers on "a more timely basis", noting that those people who substituted from time to time could eventually be added to the payroll, becoming temporary workers and possibly permanent eventually.

Asked why the payment process seemed to be complicated and complaints of non-payment so frequent, Fitt offered no comment, saying this was an area for the Chief Personnel Officer.

A well-placed Government source, however, explained the process of payment using the prison warders as an example.

The source said the paperwork at the prison service was done by two people. From there, it would go to the Ministry of Home Affairs where it was checked and validated to ensure the people they were substituting for were actually on leave.

The Personnel Administration Division verified the work, and the Public Service Commission has to approve the days of work, and then a letter was issued by the accounts department and the person
would be paid.

"There will be one step shorter now. A minor amendment has been made and a desk officer at the Personnel Administration Division can now deal with the matter. (DS)