| Comment Number: | OL-10508487 |
| Received: | 3/15/2005 9:07:13 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:
It is said that the need for NSPS is because there is limited flexibility to reassign, outstanding performers are paid the same as poor performers, and we need to be able to pay for performance. What a joke! All of these things form the basis for why managers need to be held accountable! If someone isn’t performing, managers shouldn’t be giving annual performance awards, yet they do. They can withhold WGIs, discipline, choose not promote, choose not to pay a perf award, etc. They can reward folks throughout the year, but most never take the time to write up nominations for even NON-monetary awards...what makes anyone think that more money for performance will provide them with more time to write up awards? The inflexibility to reassign is a CLASSIFICATION ISSUE, NOT an NSPS issue or otherwise...yet Classification is not one of the items “under study.” Folks often can’t reassign because of classification skills coding. So you need to look at Classification laws, regs and rules first because without changes there, NSPS isn't going to make a difference. You're simply hiding the real need for changes with NSPS instead of fighting to change old rules and regs because you know they take an act of Congress...in other words, taking the easy way out instead of really fighting for true improvement for government employees. People come to gov’t service, in part, because we’ve got a history for job security while private sector doesn’t. If you get a removal notice, you get a due process opportunity whereas in private sector, they can fire you essentially without cause. Under NSPS, it sounds like supervisors will now have that same power. That leaves a lot of room for playing favorites and getting rid of people you just have a personality conflict with. Annual COLA and WGI’s help to offset the regular 15-20% health insurance increases and other cost of living increases. It takes 21 years to go from a Step 1 to a Step 10 in the GS payscale. Under NSPS, you can max out in a pay band in a couple of years and then if you’re not promoted to the next pay band because you don’t want to be mobile, etc., you might have the same pay until you retire despite continuing cost of living increases. I have GRAVE concerns…between NSPS, Social Security running out of money and TSP, I’ll never get to retire…I’ll rot at my desk without a dime to show for all my years of hard work! My generation is tired of being the guinea pig for all of the crazy new things that keep coming up. FERS isn't the sweet package it was said to be, TSP gambles our retirement on the stock market and now NSPS is going to mess up our step increases, COLA's, and potential promotions. Again, I suspect Gen X will never get to retire because you're beating and cheating us out of everything.