A policy of remote-work for public servants is being developed to increase efficiency without cutting productivity or service quality.

The Ministry of Public Administration has engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers to develop the policy by December this year, and this will then need Cabinet’s approval. The initiative aligns with the Ministry’s focus on modernising the public service.

“PwC has been conducting meetings with key stakeholdersto effectively inform the development of the comprehensive Policy in 2024. On Friday 5th July, PwC conducted an interactive stakeholder meeting with representatives from the Service Commissions Department. A similar session was held on Friday 21 June with twenty – eight (28) Permanent Secretaries and Heads from across Ministries and Departments in Trinidad, and the Central Administrative Services Tobago (CAST). The Ministry of Finance, the National Productivity Council, the Environmental Management Agency and the Ministry of Digital Transformation are some of the other Agencies that have been engaged by PwC during the consultation process. As the multi-phased project moves ahead, PwC intends to work closely with
other key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Public Administration, the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Planning and Development and the Public
Services Association, to ensure completion of the policy in December, 2024.”

In 2023, the Ministry said “The Minister went on to state that the MPA is working closely with the Ministry of Labour to develop a policy that ensures employees are protected and provided with options. To develop a forward-thinking, proactive framework, we must consider several issues, bearing in mind that not every employee meets the criteria to work remotely. So, it’s not just about monitoring an employee’s progress online, but also about being proactive in ensuring that there is a framework that adequately addresses all relevant issues from the nature of the job, to the readiness of the Agency’s platform and clearly identifies the remote location requirements to accommodate remote work activity. Above all it is critical to ensure that remote work is consistent with GORTT’s drive to improve the provision of public services to our citizens and other stakeholders.”

Meanwhile, the Contract Price for PricewaterhouseCoopers is TT$2,875,128.75 (inclusive of VAT), according to the Ministry.