CUC could remove some positions in Rota staffing

With its current personnel on Rota at 30, the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board has recommended that they might be getting rid of some positions that are not necessary.

During a Dec. 18 board meeting, CUC chair David Sablan Jr. learned from CUC Rota resident director Charles Manglona that they need to fill four positions.

Sablan, however, said that the CUC board would move to approve the positions but need to look at the excess positions.

CUC executive director Alan Fletcher said that CUC Rota’s office had several positions that were not filled and needed it to be filled because of the staff doing more than one job.

According to CUC human resource director Frankie Cepeda there are a total of 30 positions in the Rota staffing area.

Upon hearing the number of personnel, Sablan asked CUC executives if the personnel would be increased or not.

Manglona said the reason for the increase in the positions is the need of a trade technician for power generation side on top of the three that Rota already has.

Cepeda clarified that there are three Rota personnel doing different jobs in the power generation side so one more staff is needed, which Manglona was requesting for including three other positions needed for a total of four positions.

Sablan and the board members approved the four positions for CUC Rota.

“These are fine because these are critical positions but the overall number, because Rota is less than 2MW in power generation, and there are certain level of personnel that you must have and that is the issue right now. With that amount of people even though the megawatts and demand is not that great. I think you need to look at some of the non-critical positions,” Sablan added.

Fletcher told Sablan that with the small standalone system like Rota it is very difficult to run so the staff takes five rotating shifts.

“I am only concerned that there could be excess in the non-essential positions. If we will make some adjustments, we will need less than that number of staff,” Sablan said.

“I am prepared to give him (Manglona) those four that he is asking but with the condition that we look at the other excess positions unless Rota’s demand grows some positions will be eliminated as the incumbents depart such as retirement or transfer,” he added.

Sablan then told Cepeda to make an announcement for one plant operator and a maintenance staff for the power plant and also the hiring of a trades assistant and a trades technician for the water division.