Finance Minister Paula Cox has pledged Government is not about to cut jobs or privatize services as it seeks to improve public sector performance.

However, Chamber of Commerce economics subcommittee chairman Peter Everson said Government needed to trim numbers as its workforce was already at 5,600, with probably another 500 consultants on the payroll and further increases likely.

In her Budget speech on Friday, Ms Cox said Government was keen to "do more to effect greater efficiency within the civil service" with a "simpler, more streamlined joined-up delivery of public services".

However, she told The Royal Gazette that the aim was "to promote greater efficiency by better allocation of resources as opposed to job cuts and/or privatisation".

She added: "You may have two departments/ministries doing work that given the identity of interest could be better allocated to one department/ministry. For instance you will note the reference in the national Budget statement about school maintenance — that this work is now to be carried out solely by the Ministry of Works Engineering and no longer the remit of the Ministry of Education.

"Previously you had two arms of Government carrying out work that could properly be done by one department/ministry in a more streamlined fashion."

Mr. Everson urged Government to see the wisdom of efficiency savings which yielded job cuts.

He said a ten percent increase in efficiency in the civil service could help produce more than 500 job cuts which would then release 500 Bermudians into the private sector to take jobs now held by work permit holders.

The knock-on effect could translate into 500 fewer expat households and 500 fewer vehicles on the road, argued Mr. Everson.

But he fears the public sector will increase this year based on the new programmes Government has promised, paid for out of rising payroll tax revenues from increases in salaries and more people in the economy working longer hours.

However, he said if a recession reversed this trend Government would be left with a bill it couldn't pay.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out this won't be a happy set of circumstances."

With the Bermuda Public Services Union angry at the latest pay award, Mr. Everson argued Government could pay its workers more if there were fewer of them. In Singapore he said Government workers got a bonus if the country was doing well.

Mr. Everson said another bone of contention for the business community was the amount spend on Government travel.

Budget figures reveal Government spend $5.5 million on travel in 2006/2007 and is now planning to spend $7.4 million in the coming 12 months having spent $7.8 million last year.

Mr. Everson said Government worked to different rules than the private sector where it was usual practice for employees travelling on business to be either given a company credit card or cash to cover daily expenses.

"It's one or the other," he said. "But Government does both."

He said with daily allowances topping $150 a day, a two-week trip abroad was the equivalent of a pay rise for Ministers and top civil servants. Mr. Everson said Budget figures showed Government is planning to spend nearly $80 million on consultants — up from $71 million last year.