What is the difference between a ?recruitment? exercise and a ?promotion? exercise? Employees of the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) have figured out the difference since they have been told that the corporation will be carrying out a ?consolidation and restructure exercise to meet the human resource needs of the Corporation?. This is the way Prime minister Navin Ramgoolam described the exercise in Parliament on Tuesday.

The ?promotion? exercise concerns 120 posts and surprisingly, the MBC believes that it needs to look no further for the talents it needs and seeks to ?restructure? itself so that it can ?meet the human resource needs of the corporation?; all 120 vacancies have been advertised internally.

?That?s the difference between recruitment and promotion?, says an annoyed MBC employee, not too amused by what is currently going on at the MBC. Rarely has a promotion exercise created more frustration and displeasure.

A measure of the displeasure is the support that unhappy employees are getting from opposition MPs. Four out of the 11 questions put to the Prime minister in Parliament last Tuesday had to do with the MBC. They were also questions, which invited a greater number of supplementary questions and ignited the most passion from opposition MPs.

MBC employees (or those who think they will not be ?promoted? because they have the wrong profile) are not convinced that the ?restructure? exercise is meant for the good of the corporation. ?The atmosphere at the MBC since the announcement of this promotion exercise is unhealthy. We think this is just a disguised way of rewarding those believed to be close to government?, says an MBC employee.

?Equivalent qualification?

The vacancies have been advertised internally ? which is also a bone of contention but what is making this whole exercise suspicious is the way the qualifications required for a particular vacancy have been drafted.

For instance, to qualify for eligibility to be appointed senior cameraman, one needs to have had at least one year?s service at the MBC and possess the following qualification: ?A Cambridge School Certificate with credit in at least five subjects including English Language, French, Mathematics and Physics or Chemistry obtained at not more than two sittings; or passes not below Grade C in at least five subjects including English Language, French, Mathematics and Physics or Chemistry obtained at not more than two sittings at the General Certificate of Education ?Ordinary Level? provided that at one of the sittings, passes have been obtained either (i) in five subjects including English Language with at least a grade C in any two subjects or (ii) in six subjects including English language with at least grade C in any one subject; or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the board.?

An MBC employee, speaking on behalf of his colleagues, says that the fact that the phrase ?or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the board? has been added to every vacancy ?says it all?. ?All this advertisement is just an eyewash. The board will appoint whomever they want and they won?t even have to justify the appointments because in any event they have made provision for this by adding to the qualifications that they reserve the right to appoint who they want.?

The vacancies that have been advertised internally are many. They include the post of Chief News Editor\Desk Coordinator, two posts of Chief Technical Producer, three posts of Senior Documentation Officer, four posts of Senior Production Assistant\Production Assistant, five posts of Assistant Finance Officer, six posts of Administrative Officer, seven posts of Administrative Assistant, eight posts of Quality Control Officer\Senior Quality Control Officer, nine posts of Assistant Traffic Officer, ten posts of Documentation Clerk, 11 posts of News Editor, 12 posts of Producer, 13 posts of Clerk\Word Processing Operator, 14 posts of Cameraman\Senior Cameramen and 15 posts of Senior Customer Care Officer.

Contractual staff and full-fledged employees

In the newsroom, older journalists who are not in the good books of the new Labour administration fear they will be put aside when contractual staff are appointed and become full-fledged employees of the corporation.

The ?management? at the MBC is currently working on recommendations for the appointment and promotion of personnel and those recommendations will be subsequently submitted to the Board for approval.

?Are the promotions being carried out in a transparent fashion?? asked an opposition MP to the Prime minister on Tuesday.

Navin Ramgoolam smiled and said: ?Always.? MBC employees are not too convinced.