| Comment Number: | OL-10511084 |
| Received: | 3/16/2005 1:57:58 PM |
| 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:
NSPS is not the way to go. The Civil Service System has been in place for over fifty years and has been functioning fine. The Civil Service Retirement System [CSRS] was replaced by Federal Employee Retirement System [FERS] in January 1984. This addressed issued that there MIGHT have been with CSRS. Supposedly NSPS streamlines the grievance procedure. Additionally, supervisors will be given 'stringent' training. The tools were always there to separate the good employees from the bad ones yet they weren't used. Yes, it does take a lot of paperwork to terminate a non performer. Under NSPS it will still take much documentation. So what's changed? I fear the NSPS will promote favoritism. Under the current system are protections for the employees if the supervisor takes any adverse actions which are NOT justified. The employee, the supervisor and the Union all have rights. Under NSPS the employee and unions would not have the same protections. It would be solely up to the manager to promote, fire, or give a pay raise to an employee. It is all very subjective and the employee would have no rights to petition the supervisor's decision. What does my pay, seniority; promotion steps, veteran's preference etc. have to do with National Security? It is wrong to take our minimal annual pay raise away and let our supervisor decide our raise or if we even get one. The one thing missing in the new NSPS system is the element of trust...trust is non-existent. NSPS with its rules and regulations which will change almost everything for me as a bargaining member, the government makes me feel like I have done something wrong and now I'm being punished. Pay banding is wrong. It demoralizes the employees. No employee will know what the other received, if any, of the bonus pool. For example: Given the pay bands, a previous GS 9 might be over-tasked, doing the work of a GS 11. The employee is given these tasks because he/she is an outstanding performer...but has a negative personality. The GS 11 who should have done the work is a poor performer but hangs out with the boss. The GS 9 who is overworked receives none of the bonus money while the GS 11 receives bonus money because hangs out with the boss. Another downside to the program: The possibility of no COLA. Civil servants call them annual pay raises when in effect they are Cost of Living Adjustments. NSPS briefers stated that it is possible for all of the available pool money could be used for bonuses; nothing for COLA. So, it is possible that a negative personality worker could go years without one single raise. Typically, the GS 13s and 14s get all of the annual money while crumbs are given to the workers. What prevents this from happening? Will a miracle occur and supervisors become competent simply because we are now using NSPS? I think not. I believe NSPS will be a deterrent to teamwork. Generally, people are trying to work towards a Win - Win solution. With NSPS it is a 100% Lose - Lose solution. The Gov't will lose because most or a lot of the well dedicated employees who have the knowledge and talent will do a mass exodus from the Gov't. The employees lose because they will leave behind the jobs they were very dedicated to and might end up on the unemployment line. The Country will lose because National Security will be up for grabs due to so many of the Fed. Workers having left at one time and no one will be there to step-in right away with the knowledge needed to run the Gov't. NSPS will discourage people from working for the Gov't because they will not have many rights. One feature of NSPS is they can tell the employee that he needs to go to the front of the war. If he does not he might lose his job. This is wrong. DCMA currently has and always has had many workers step up to the plate and go wherever they were needed around the world serving six months at a time. NSPS is wrong for the Government, the Federal Employees, the Military and the Country