Sen. Remengesau reacted anew to an earlier statement made by President Johnson Toribiong about the “overuse of contract employees by the National Government over the last few years significantly increases the National Government’s payroll and is unfair to the regular civil service employees”
Remengesau said that the use of employment contracts also fill in critical positions such as ‘teachers’ and ‘nurses’ when there are no eligible Palauan applicants.Contract employees, he explained also fill program or project positions funded by grants that are for a limited time with a specific end date.The use of employment contracts also reduce the long-term costs for the government so that when grant funding runs out, the local government is not obligated to continue funding for the position, he said.He said that in the past or when the Compact first came into effect, a number of grant programs were phased out but the program positions were filled by civil servants and the government was faced with the dilemma of retaining civil servants while eliminating certain programs.Employment contracts are also used for positions that require specialized skills or knowledge.These positions are that of doctors and lawyers.He added that there are contract employees positions that are paid by grants. “In addition to those employees funded under grants and elected officials including the President and Vice President, and their special advisors and assistants, other contract employees include all members and staff of the Olbiil Era Kelulau, and all the Justices and professional staff of the Judicial Branch. These are some of the highest paid positions in our government and so it is not surprising to find that it can be a significant cost to government operations,” he said.The senator also pointed out that recruiting and retaining skilled or experienced people, especially Palauans, is “a continuing challenge that every Administration has faced and one that President Toribiong will experience. The use of employment contracts is one way to attract or provide incentives to secure the services of qualified people.”“For President Toribiong to say that the law is being circumvented or that the application of one is unfair shows that he is not being made fully aware of the use of employment contracts and the challenges of securing and maintaining qualified staff,” he said.Remengesau added, “in fact, I am sure that if we look at records it will show that he is hiring his staff, special assistants, consultants and other political hires using contracts.”
