Private sector concerned about workers leaving for better-paying gov’t jobs- Hamilton

Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton on Wednesday night said private sector companies have raised concerns about the loss of their workers to the public sector.

Hamilton was tasked with defending his ministry’s $1.2 billion allocation in the 2024 National Budget during the consideration of the budget estimates. That allocation was eventually approved by the Parliamentary Committee of Supply without changes.

The Labour Ministry, among other things, is responsible for industrial relations, occupational health and safety and training workers. It also engages the private sector on studying labour market trends.

And when quizzed about the possibility of better remuneration to keep trained workers in the public sector, Mr. Hamilton said government continues to train people as necessary but the reality is that more workers are now joining the public sector.

“Right now you have more people leaving the private sector to come work in the public sector because of better remuneration packages,” Hamilton said.

In response to follow-up questions on his statement posed by Opposition Parliamentarian Juretha Fernandes, Mr. Hamilton said he was informed on this situation by several private sector players. So he directed her to verify that with the private sector.

He added that the private sector raised a “concern that they are losing staff to the government” and would be better-positioned to talk about this labour market change.

“There are several areas and agencies and partners that we have been engaging and they have been informing us as to labour market trends and all the things have been happening,” he said.