JCSA, JMDA restive over outstanding claims under wage agreement

By Prince Moore    

 

Public sector workers represented by the Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA) are restive over the lack of action by the Ministry of Finance in settling outstanding claims under their wage agreement.

 

The JCSA has written to the Ministry of Finance expressing concern about its lack of action regarding outstanding issues under discussion with the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions.

 

The union says it has taken note of the Finance Minister's continued public pronouncements that his ministry and the unions have reached agreement on all outstanding matters, except for increments.

 

JCSA President Techa Clarke Griffiths says the continued delay by the Finance Ministry to facilitate the signing of the agreement is frustrating. 

 

"While the Ministry of Finance continues to delay these documents and for the agreements to be signed for the implementation and payments to be made, my members are suffering in the interim. And we cannot continue to wait until the ministry decides on their own timing to release these documents. We have been waiting one year. We are almost at the end of the compensation implementation and we are still waiting. In principle, we are not prepared to go any further. So on Friday, we are going to be wearing black. That's where we're starting because we're going to have black Friday, this Friday," she warned. 

 

The Jamaica Medical Doctors Association (JMDA) has said its members are also upset about the lack of response from the Finance Ministry on issues affecting them under the public sector compensation review.

 

JMDA President Dr. Mindi Fitz-Henley said there are numerous issues which are outstanding under the wage claim. 

 

"We have no over time rate, we have the incentive which we disagree with and are going to continue to lobby for, we have our doctors who are not appointed. We have many issues. Those doctors who are not appointed are not getting gratuity or pension."

 

"We have our doctors who were supposed to be moved up from medical officer one to medical officer two, medical officer two to medical officer three, and they have been stagnant. These were supposed to have been done in the second cycle of appointment and we still have not gotten our doctors to do that. We have people who are being paid less than the people that they are supervising," she complained.