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Police Federation blasts proposal to cap public sector wages relative to GDP

Sergeant Arleen McBean, Chairman of the Jamaica Police Federation
 
By Racquel Porter   
 
Chairman of the Jamaica Police Federation Sergeant Arlene McBean has come out swinging against a suggestion that the government reintroduce a fiscal rule that caps public sector wages as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).
 
Former Chairman of the replaced Economic Programme Oversight Committee, Keith Duncan, made the recommendation last December against the background of growing concerns over the increasing share of public sector salaries relative to the nation's economic output.
 
Mr. Duncan said wages and salaries were consuming approximately 45 per cent of tax revenues and 40 per cent of total revenues.
 
This, he said, raised questions about Jamaica's fiscal sustainability and economic health.
 
Responding to the suggestion on Sunday, Sergeant McBean said the only cap the police are willing to hear about is the one they were issued to wear on their heads. 
 
"No banker look (sic) at the fact that high service charge continues to weaken our disposable income, but you're talking about a cap. You're talking about public sector, who commits to serve, protect and reassure, needs a salary cap. Well guess what? Get out there on the battlefield with us and come and experience what we are experiencing out there with criminals. And if you can't, shut up!" 
 
The Police Federation chairman was speaking at the Thanksgiving Service for the life of Constable Christopher Smith who was killed last December at a gas station on Beechwood Avenue in Kingston.
 
Tremaine Harris, 23, was arrested at Norman Manley International Airport during an attempt to flee the island, and was subsequently charged in connection with the killing.
 


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