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The Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) board will review all hiring decisions made since January, after an oversight committee rejected an unqualified applicant who was subsequently hired.
The board of directors of Jamaica’s cannabis and hemp industry regulator said: “In light of issues raised by the public and concerns raised by the CEO, the board will conduct a review of the operations of the Human Resources Executive Committee (HREC) and all hiring and firings since January.”
This development is in response to The Sunday Gleaner Whether the board is satisfied that its hiring decisions have been fair and transparent since CEO Farrah Blake dissolved the HREC on Jan. 25.
The company added: “The board has full confidence in the CEO’s operational efficiency and transparency.”
This question was first The Sunday Gleaner on August 4. More than a dozen workers have since called on the Auditor General’s Department to investigate CLA’s hiring practices, job confirmations and reallocations, as well as procurement, finance and regulatory activities.
The Human Resource Management Association of Jamaica, the leading body for HR practitioners on the island of Jamaica, said that while the CEO has the final say, committees like the HREC “play a critical role in supporting fairness, transparency, due diligence, HR policy development and compliance”.
The local authority’s Human Resources Policy and Procedure Manual states that the chief executive officer has “ultimate responsibility for the exercise of the authority’s human resources management functions” and that accountability mechanisms should be established, including an executive human resources committee. The chief executive officer appoints the committee members.
The board, chaired by Christopher McPherson, said in its response last week that it played no role in the decision to disband the HREC, noting that the committee “does not fall within the purview of the board.”
The board further argued that the HREC “was not disbanded”. It said the committee was established in 2021 with a “three-year term” under its terms of reference, which would end in January next year, and so it was decided to reconstitute the committee based on “lessons learned”. The new committee is expected to be established in October 2024.
However, a copy of the Committee’s terms of reference The Sunday Gleaner The document does not indicate that the committee will serve for a three-year term. Instead, it outlines the length of time that committee members will be appointed.
“Once appointed, HREC members will initially serve for a two-year term,” states the five-page document, which was approved on January 8, 2021 by then-CEO Lincoln Allen.
The document states that the committee will review all CLA human resources functions, including appointments, departures, training and discipline, and its decisions or recommendations will be subject to approval by the CEO, who will be a member of the committee but will not have a vote.
At the same time, CLA leadership does not appear to have considered that it would take 10 months to replace the committee, according to the CEO’s January memo disbanding the committee.
The memorandum did not mention the expiration of the three-year term, but noted that “the Commission has served for three years and it is necessary to review the terms of reference and structure of the HREC.”
The statement continued: “As a result, the CLA’s term as HREC will end as of January 25, 2024. We will shortly appoint a new delegation and update its terms of reference.”
The Sunday Gleaner The board has been asked to provide a copy of the terms of reference to which it referred.
The Office of the Service Commission, which oversees the human resources functions of government departments, was asked about the role of the HREC in the CLA and other related issues on July 29. The office responded on August 12, saying that neither the Service Commission nor the Public Service Commission “has authority over the entity (Cannabis Licensing Authority) and its human resources functions.”
The committee directed further inquiries to the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, led by Senator Aubyn Hill, which said in July that it was unaware of CLA’s human resource problems. Last week, the ministry promised to answer more questions by the end of the week.
The CLA disbanded the HREC days after voting against hiring a recommended candidate for director of human resources management and administration. The candidate was later hired in February despite the committee’s recommendation, sparking concerns among staff about a “complete lack of transparency.” The official resigned in May.
At least 10 positions have been filled since the commission was disbanded, while numerous others have been reappointed, confirmed, and had their contracts not renewed. Most recently, an administrative assistant was appointed director, responsible for overseeing the administrative arm of the CLA, which shocked many CLA staff members, who questioned the official’s qualifications and experience.
The board did not specify who would be responsible for reviewing hiring decisions or when the process is expected to be completed. The agency said it would respond to the questions by Friday.
Converting contract workers into permanent employees
Meanwhile, the board has yet to provide a timeline for the conversion of 65 CLA employees from contract workers to civil servants, which is the main concern of the workers.
The interest has intensified after the government announced a policy to end contractual employment in the public sector.
“This problem has been around for decades and has only gotten worse over time. I am not the one who caused this problem, but I am committed that within the three years to 2025/26, we will have fixed it,” Minister for Finance and Public Services Dr Nigel Clarke said in March.
At the time, he announced that hundreds of public school staff and garbage collectors who had been without benefits for years would now receive retirement benefits as their status was upgraded from contract workers to permanent employees. Doctors also benefited.
According to the documents obtained, the CLA is moving forward with a transition date of June 1, 2023 The Sunday GleanerThe process began as early as August 16, 2022, when the then interim chief executive, Daenia Ashpole, wrote to the Treasury requesting the transition of all positions below the office of the chief executive.
“Regularising the employment relationship will give employees access to a number of key benefits that will impact their lifestyle, add stability to employee job retention and help the authority reduce operating costs by removing pension payments,” Mr Ashpole said. He noted at the time that CLA’s attrition rate “consistently exceeded 20%, more than double the international norm”.
She said short contracts with uncertain tenure led employees to look for other jobs, resulting in high turnover and loss of institutional knowledge, “which does not bode well for a nascent industry.” The CLA was established in 2015, alongside the liberalization of the cannabis industry.
The Ministry of Finance responded to the CLA CEO in a letter dated September 6, 2022, requesting more details such as the entity’s human resources manual and feedback from financial institutions on the pension scheme.
In April 2023, CLA informed its employees that National Commercial Bank was an approved pension provider and that registration forms would be distributed by the end of that month. A month later, several forms, including a payroll deduction form, were distributed to employees, who were required to complete and return them by June 2, 2023.
However, the process came to a halt on June 1 when the board chair informed staff at a meeting that day that the transition had to be paused.
McPherson, a senior executive at the National Land Office and former advisor to Minister Hill, was appointed CLA Chair on September 11, 2022. His term ends next month.
More than a year has passed and this issue has not been resolved.
In response The Sunday Gleaner Last week, the board did not outline any specific steps it was taking to move forward.
“It is difficult to put a timeline on the steps that need to be taken and the approval processes that need to be followed,” the board said. “Employee transition is important to the board, but it requires the involvement of many stakeholders, including employees, to ensure it is successful and in the best interest of employees.”
“There is a need to ensure that the transformation of the organisation meets the needs required, including adding new skills and talent to the institution to meet the demands of the industry,” the board added.
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