UWI Mona insists wage talks with unions have not broken down

 

 

The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona has dismissed claims that dialogue with staff unions has broken down, insisting that negotiations over a long delayed salary review remain active and ongoing with the Ministry of Finance.

 

In a detailed timeline, Campus Registrar Dr. Donovan Stanberry noted that all three unions submitted claims in 2022 seeking salary alignment with government wage structures, leading to a broader compensation review and interim adjustments while a comprehensive study was conducted.

 

"All three unions submitted to us, in 2022, claims. And in the claim, they did not ask for the customary salary increase.

What they asked for is to be given salaries that were in accordance with what obtained in government consequent on the salary review that the government itself implemented in that year. Of course, we had to engage the government, and the beauty with this engagement is that we engaged the government together with the unions. We did not go behind them, we went together," he insisted.

 

Dr. Stanberry went on to explain the current stage of the process, noting recent engagement with the Ministry of Finance and stressing that the university is now awaiting a final decision. 

 

"The Ministry invited us as management and in mid-February, having received a report and having made a preliminary look at it and they invited us to get some clarification. And they said okay, guys, we'll get back to you in two to three weeks. Immediately I returned from Heroes Circle to my office. I penned a memo to every union head to say that we met with the  ministry today, they sought some clarification and they promised to get back to us within two weeks. Truth is, it really took the ministry more than two weeks because there's a big report, it's technical and they have to fully understand the nuances of the way and so on and so forth," he sought to explain. 

 

Dr. Stanberry, who was a guest on Radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines on Thursday, noted that the university remains committed to transparency and collective bargaining, stressing that final decisions now rest with the government.