| Comment Number: | OL-10506589 |
| Received: | 3/12/2005 1:20:07 AM |
| Subject: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment |
| Title: | National Security Personnel System |
| CFR Citation: | 5 CFR Chapter XCIX and Part 9901 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
To the Policy Makers, This entire pay system change has created feelings of distrust over your intentions. It seems this is being thrust upon the career civil servants like myself in order to disregard the rights and compensation earned over a long period. I think the pennies you are trying to save will come back to haunt you manifold as lawsuits will be filed over the changes in pay, promotions, bonuses and schedules that will cost more than they save and in the end it is a foolish exercise. I am a member of NAGE and feel that the forcing of this plan on GS/Federal workers will result in a backlash of mistrust, departure from federal service, lawsuits, and more difficult recruitment with a loss in highly qualified personnel. In the end I see it as counterproductive for all. Specifically, 1. Nothing in the regulations prohibits supervisors and other managers from being placed in the same pay pools as non-management employees. This means that supervisors could compete against the employees they rate (and provide pay increases and bonuses to each year) for the same pay pool funds. This is an obvious conflict of interest. Management could intentionally hold down the ratings and pay increases of employees to ensure that more funds are available for supervisors and managers in the pay pools. 2. Nothing in these regulations limits the amount of pay increases and bonuses that management can award themselves or others each year, other than the maximum salary rates of their respective pay bands, and the amount of money in the pay pools 3. Gross breach of trust in changing from annual pay increases due to longevity and cost of living to a new system that does not guarantee increases for employees as costs increase. It is blatant "union busting" and anti-worker. I think this violates the very spirit of civil service and the warm feeling of trust between workers the people/government we serve. It seems just one step away from outsourcing these jobs overseas! Shame on you for trying to save expenses on dedicated employees when the wanton waste throughout government spending is so obvious elsewhere and we are spending multiple billions in Iraq while attempting to pay for it by reducing hard earned, reasonable cost of living increases for vital government workers. Save elsewhere with efficiency, not Scrooge-like penny pinching on employees! Annual Pay Raises.Under the General Schedule and the Federal Wage System, employee pay was clear. It was funded by Congress and could not be taken away. However, NSPS will take away this certainty. Salaries and bonuses are funded by DoD. In the past – as recently as just last year – DoD did not fund its awards program. Given the agency’s miserable record on this issue, how can employees feel confident that our salaries and bonuses will be funded in the future? "Friend of the Supervisor" Pay System With the new patronage pay system, which DoD calls "pay for performance," the amount of a worker's salary will depend almost completely on the personal judgment of his or her manager. This system will force workers to compete with one another for pay raises, which will destroy teamwork, increase conflict among employees, and reward short-term outcomes. There is no guarantee that even the best workers will receive a pay raise or that the pay offered will be fair or competitive. This system will create a situation in which workers are in conflict with one another and afraid to speak out about harassment, violations of the law, and workplace safety problems. Furthermore, there will be no impartial appeal system to assure that everyone is treated fairly. Schedules and Overtime NSPS will allow managers to schedule employees to work without sufficient advance notice of schedule changes. It would also open the door for scheduling harassment. Please reconsider these sweeping changes and be wise. I think this will backfire if you implement it as proposed.