HRMATT: Implement hybrid and remote work policies, tax incentives for childcare

Senior Reporter

peter.christopher@guardian.co.tt

There is hope that the 2025 National Budget presentation will feature a clear plan for hybrid or remote work as well as a “national human resource development strategy.”

This call has been made by the Human Resource Management Association of Trinidad and Tobago (HRMATT) through its president, Cavelle Joseph-St Omer.

Amid the current push for digitisation, the HRMATT president stressed that there should be a further embrace of modern practices, most notably hybrid and remote work policies.

She said, “The modernisation of the public service also includes embracing, where applicable or practicable, hybrid work in the public service, developing a common hybrid work model for the public service, and full ushering of all government services in a digital age, which includes: improving digital services, online security, information technology, artificial intelligence, workplace innovation, open data, and greening government.

“In fact, public servants should be working more collaboratively on shared/connected platforms in exploring, testing, and comparing the impacts of their work in order to inform better decision-making. Navigating challenges and seizing opportunities in today’s globalised world requires a breadth of knowledge and an appreciation of interconnectedness.”

She felt the budget should also push further integration of technology and incentives for innovation in society.

Joseph-St Omer said, “Embracing greater innovation and technology adaptation in the workplace. New technologies and social media platforms are transforming service delivery across all industries.

“Technology has given us faster, cheaper, and more personalised services across industries, and citizens are demanding the same level of efficiency and convenience from the public sector.

“While the proliferation of communication channels has expanded opportunities for public engagement, greater access to information and a 24/7 media culture have increased scrutiny of government, contributing to heightened risk aversion across the public sector.”

She added, “To adapt to the accelerating pace of change in a globalised, networked environment, the government needs to streamline processes and manage risks. Demographic change also complicates fiscal and talent management in the public sector.

“Meeting growing demands with a shrinking workforce means that government has to do more with less by enhancing efficiency and effectiveness.

“With increasingly diverse and intergenerational workplaces, accommodating different expectations and creating a culture of collaboration will be important for public sector productivity and innovation.”

The HRMATT head said the 2025 National Budget should recognise human resource development as vital for social and economic prosperity, which can build resilience and sustainable development. “This is particularly the case because we are not insulated from global social, economic, political, business, educational, and technological changes; however, these changes affect the planning, management, and delivery of the education and training systems and cultures that influence educational, social, and economic outcomes,” said Joseph-St Omer last week.

She emphasised that developing a national human resource development strategy would help address several shortcomings and inefficiencies currently found across the country in both the public and private sectors.

“An excellent strategy will be to develop a National Human Resource Development Strategy that recognises the need for systemic educational reform leading to the establishment of a single, unified, rationalised, and coordinated system framework for planning and managing the entry, upward and diagonal mobility, and exit of learners that reduces resource and learning duplications, repetitions, and misalignment across all levels of education and training sectors.

“When we consider that the education system comprises actors in three stages/sectors—basic education (early childhood to secondary), skills for lifelong learning, and tertiary education—we will see that some vital changes are required to prepare the future workforce or entrepreneur,” she said.

“This change in the system must embrace global competitiveness issues as we deliver education and training to our people. The National HRD Strategy should focus on the development of the ‘whole’ person, not just for purposes of attaining productive livelihoods as competent, innovatively skilled workers and entrepreneurs, but to contribute to educating enlightened individuals who can support meaningful and informed social and cultural changes through their daily and professional lives within their homes, communities, schools, workplaces, and the global space in which we are all active participants.”

Also on the wish list for HRMATT is public sector reform.

Joseph-St Omer said, “We would like to see legislative reform and significant budget allocations dedicated to modernising staffing in the public service while retaining and/or promoting the core values of performance, excellence, non-partisanship, representativeness, and the ability to serve members of the public with integrity. The modernisation of the public sector should also involve the development of new skills in the public service and a concerted effort to increase the retirement age to 65 years.”

The HRMATT president also hoped for an announcement that would increase the number of childcare options for working parents, as she lobbied for the implementation of tax incentives for childcare solutions or homework facilities.

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