Mahfood: Public could have been given prior notice about pay hike for parliamentarians

By Warren Bertram   

 

John Mahfood, President of the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA), says the government could have given the public prior notice ahead of the announcement of the salary hikes for the political directorate.

 

This, he said, may have helped reduce the initial shock and subsequent backlash caused by the announcement.

 

"It's not really that there was a salary increase. It was one, the fact [of] how the salary increase was done. It was not transparent in terms of how it was calculated and the way it was done in terms of a sudden announcement in Parliament, without adequate communication and sensitisation to the public that one was coming and how it was going to be done."

 

Mr. Mahfood said, in addition to the shock of the announcement, the large percentage of the increases represented some amount of insensitivity to the suffering of ordinary Jamaicans. 

 

Since last week's announcement, several civic groups, including the Jamaica Council of Churches, have called for a roll back of the salaries.

 

Public sector unions have also called for the government to settle the outstanding issues related to the compensation review.