NOW the tribunal of inquiry into the airport firefighter dispute has come to an end, the next significant development will be the release of its findings which will be delivered in a report to the Bailiff.

In turn, that will inevitably trigger the question: what has Guernsey got for its £250,000?

There may well be some winners and losers.

Given that this was a grudge inquisition aimed at the chief minister for having the temerity to get involved when the airport was at a standstill, those hoping to nail him will be disappointed, although the Emergency Powers Authority operating as a shadow body requires some explaining.

If, however, the Public Sector Remuneration Committee was hoping to come out of it with a ringing endorsement, its members will be sadly disappointed.

While the tribunal members will be far too diplomatic to point fingers, their coded conclusions will be that the PSRC was not merely unfit for purpose but that it was ineffective.

In some regard, that will be a harsh epitaph for a body that over the years has saved the taxpayer millions by trying to keep a brake on public sector wages. But obituaries also highlight failures.

What has already emerged from the tribunal’s questioning and the evidence of the States recently recruited head of HR and organisational development is that while the world and industrial relations have moved on, the PSRC and Guernsey States have not.

One of the points made by the head of HR was what on earth are the political members of the PSRC doing getting involved in actual negotiations with employees? He did not go so far as to question what skills, abilities or experience that they had to offer but he did criticise the lack of understanding across the piece of the key drivers and inputs into the setting of pay levels.

As for the PSRC, its members were aghast that they had been usurped by the Policy Council/shadow EPA because they were less than 48 hours away from an industrial tribunal. Again, it wasn’t spoken, but the inference is that the airport could remain shut until then.

What the report to the Bailiff will show is that the process was more important than the outcome and if the subsequent recommendations end that culture, it will have been worth every penny.