Overview of the Personnel Department
The Personnel Department is the Department of Government with responsibility for determining and/or advising on pay and other terms and conditions of service for a wide spectrum of employees within the public sector.
Established by the Civil Service Act of 1965 (now Chapter 23:01 of the Laws of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago) the Department determines, through consultation and negotiation with appropriate recognised associations and unions, the terms and conditions of service of some:
- fifty-three (53) thousand monthly-paid officers of the Public Service;
- four thousand (4,000) monthly-paid officers employed in Statutory Authorities subject to the Statutory Authorities Act Chapter 24:01;
- twenty-six thousand (26,000) daily–rated workers employed in Government Ministries and Departments, the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) and Municipal Corporations.
The Department also advises/makes recommendations on the terms and conditions of service of:
- employees of those Statutory Bodies and State Enterprises which receive guidelines from the Public Sector Negotiations Committee, the Ministerial Committee responsible for monitoring levels of remuneration in the public sector;
- holders of offices within the purview of the Salaries Review Commission;
- members of the Defence Force.
Additionally, the Department is responsible for determining the terms and conditions of employment of persons employed on contract in the Public Service and in Statutory Authorities.
In recent times, the role of the Department has expanded to that of a Central Human Resource Management Agency with responsibility for:
- policy formulation in areas of Human Resource Management which are not within the purview of the Service Commissions;
- establishing and/or reviewing the legal and regulatory framework for Human Resource Management in the Public Service;
- monitoring and auditing the practice of Human Resource Management within Ministries and Departments.
