Chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC) Nonu Lemauga Saleimoa Vaai has clarified the PSC’s position on the going negotiations with the Ministry of Health proposals for overtime for medical staff and nurses and associated issues.
The government media reported that Nonu made it clear that contrary to media reports, PSC is not “cutting overtime” for doctors and nurses, and negotiations are continuing with the Ministry of Health.
He said conditions under the law govern SOEs under the Board of Directors. Overtime is paid but only for permanent staff.
He told Savali their priority is the service, and this is by finalizing the MoH Merger from 2019. Further changes for continuous improvements is covered in current discussions with MOH and will be further reviewed under the recent PSC Review – Phase 2.
Also, with 82 Doctors in MoH now, the PSC is giving priority to five undergraduates’ awards per year for NUS Medical School. They are targeting post-graduate awards of 5 per year for specialized areas, i.e., Pathologist etc., and they are also working with Medical Council to fine-tune better the career progression of young Doctors in key specialized areas that is in high demand locally.
This is part of the PSC National Workforce Planning Exercise currently underway.