Speed up public sector wage talks, IMF urges Jamaican Government

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is urging the Jamaican Government to speed up public sector wage negotiations.

Uma Ramakrishnan, IMF Mission Chief to Jamaica, on Thursday highlighted risks if wage agreements are not reached in a timely manner.

“Further delays pose significant risks and uncertainty to the government’s fiscal accounts,” she warned.

Ramakrishnan spoke at an IMF Closing Mission news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, adding that “it was also acknowledged wage negotiations should be anchored on (a) forward looking medium term compensation framework, to sustainably reduce the wage bill and release resources for the much needed social and growth enhancing spending.”

Public sector wage talks recently got off to a rocky start, with teachers and the police rejecting the six percent wage increase over two years.

Finance Minister Audley Shaw has urged public sector groups to temper their wage demands.    

Ramakrishnan disclosed that the IMF also wants to see changes to the payment of what she characterized as the “inequitable system of allowances… in the public sector.”

She also reiterated the view of the IMF that “the reforms to the large and inefficient public sector in Jamaica cannot be delayed much further.”