In a recent development dated August 27, 2026, the Public Service Union (PSU) has issued a formal directive barring all public sector employees from taking part in the newly launched NeoPeople human resources pilot programme, escalating a conflict between the labor body and the Briceño administration over the unilaterally rolled-out initiative.
The PSU alleges that the Ministry of Public Service and the sitting administration moved forward with the pilot without securing the union’s prior agreement, breaking a long-standing process of collaborative decision-making for public sector workforce initiatives. Union leaders confirmed they first discovered the rollout when the third-party vendor NeoPeople reached out directly to selected public officers via their personal email accounts, inviting recipients to complete onboarding procedures that include updating and reviewing sensitive personal information.
According to PSU documentation, the union outlined a clear set of non-negotiable conditions in an official letter submitted on August 6 that required fulfillment before any employee registration could proceed. These conditions include: a temporary pause on all registration activities until a legally binding Memorandum of Understanding for the new Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) is finalized; full public disclosure of NeoPeople’s service contract in response to a Freedom of Information Act request the PSU filed back in March; appointment of a dedicated data privacy officer mandated by the national Data Protection Act; written assurance that no public officer will face disciplinary retaliation for refusing to complete biometric enrollment; public release of a completed Data Protection Impact Assessment for the programme; and explicit, voluntary employee consent for data processing as required by existing data protection legislation.
As of the union’s latest announcement, none of these six conditions have been satisfied by the ministry or the administration. PSU officials emphasized that the decision to push ahead with the pilot despite repeated calls for a suspension pending consultation is a clear indication of bad faith on the government’s part.
Beyond the broken consultation process, the union has flagged a separate, serious concern: the Ministry of Public Service shared public officers’ private contact information with NeoPeople, an external third-party vendor, without the knowledge or explicit consent of the affected employees. The PSU describes this action as a major breach of personal data privacy, exactly the risk the union has repeatedly warned about when turning over sensitive public servant information to outside contractors.
In its official circular distributed to all member public officers, the PSU laid out strict step-by-step instructions for any worker who receives communication from NeoPeople or the ministry regarding the pilot programme. Members are explicitly told not to activate any user account created for the programme, not to share any personal or biometric identifying information with the vendor, and to avoid providing substantive responses to any outreach without first consulting union representatives. The union also requires members to retain all related communications, including invitation emails, onboarding guidance, registration deadlines, and any messages from human resources staff or supervisors referencing the pilot or potential consequences for declining participation. In a separate related call, the PSU has also urged tax sector workers to “stand ready” for further action as the conflict develops.