PSOJ urges gov't to tread carefully in public sector wage talks

 

The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) is warning the government to tread carefully in wage talks with public sector unions. 

 

It follows a threat by the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) to take industrial action and seek legal recourse if the government does not improve its wage offer. 

 

The Ministry of Finance is planning a four-year offer of 0% in the first year followed by 2.5% in each of the remaining three years. 

 

PSOJ President Metry Seaga said any agreement reached now will carry major consequences for whichever party forms the next government after the September 3 election.

 

"Whilst we do need to pay our teachers better and our policemen better and our civil servants better, I think the government has made a move in the right direction for the public sector wage reclassifications and the entire exercise that they went through a year or so ago, or two years ago - and with that we have to be very careful that we do not break the bank and harm the hard work that we have done to this point with salaries that we cannot afford."

 

Mr. Seaga also stressed that higher wages must be matched by stronger economic growth, pointing out that salaries already consume 70% of the Education Ministry's budget. 

 

"The answer to it, you know, is not to keep paying people low wages; the answer to it is to grow the size of the economy so that teachers can be allotted more, so that policemen can be allotted more. And the only way we're going to grow the economy is we grow it outside of Jamaica. So to [MSME Alliance President Antoinette Hamilton's] point about developing those agro-processing plants, etc, those are the things that we have to do to get our goods and services outside of Jamaica to other places, bring their money into Jamaica, and that's how we're going to get richer as a people and be able to pay people more," he asserted.  

 

Mr. Seaga was a guest Wednesday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106 FM.