Declaring that Barbados is no longer an 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. society,?Minister of Industry and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss, has given notice that Government will have to look at a shift system across the public service to contain a worrying overtime bill and meet other challenges of a changing social and business environment.
Speaking shortly after a St Joseph branch meeting of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) on Sunday night at the Grantley Adams Memorial School, Inniss pointed out that there were agencies such as the Barbados Water Authority where overtime costs were an issue.
“Much of this country’s expenditure on payroll goes in paying overtime, which is costing the state a lot of money. All of us as ministers have this concern.
“Looking at the bigger picture of public sector reform, we have to be mindful that there are some previously held and treasured work arrangements that are not sustainable and as we move more and more into a world that is 24-7 we, too, have to move with the times and accept there should be a shift system,” he said.
Inniss believes a shift system will stimulate business and ease traffic congestion in the afternoon.
