Unions still split on government's wage offer

 

Members of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) are still split on whether to accept the government's wage offer under the compensation review programme.

 

The JCTU held a special meeting on Tuesday to discuss the offer with a view to determine if a majority of unions are ready to sign.

 

Five of the eleven unions, including the Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA), have signalled their intention to accept the offer.

 

But according to JCTU President Helene Davis Whyte, the Confederation is still "not in a position to sign a heads of agreement with the government because we still do not have a majority of the unions on board". 

 

Mrs Davis Whyte was unable to say when there will be an end to the deadlock. 

 

Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke told the House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon that an increase of $21.1 billion has been budgeted to compensate government-paid workers under the compensation review programme. 

 

Dr. Clarke, who was tabling the first supplementary estimates, said an additional $2.2 billion has been requested by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to facilitate the payment of salary-related allowances. 

 

The Finance Minister said there has been significant progress in public sector wage talks but he prefers that specifics of the discussion remain undisclosed to the public, for now.

 

He cautioned, however, that the negotiations must be concluded before March 2023. 

 

"We're making these changes effective April 1st, 2022. By the end of this month, eight months of 2022 would have gone. By January, ten months would have gone. And ten months of what we proverbially call 'bad pay' is a large amount that is being budgeted for in this fiscal year, and if it is not paid in this fiscal year, the space to accommodate it in the next fiscal year does not exist," he warned.