Representatives of JCTU`s participating affiliates also signed the document, which will cover about 50% of public sector workers. The chairman of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU), Senator Kavan Gayle, described the agreement as a stand-by position, noting that the most important aspect of the negotiations is related to the long-awaited review of public sector compensation commissioned by the government. He stressed that the government is ready to make payments for this year to other public sector workers by December ”if we can reach agreements with the remaining [bargaining] groups.” With the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the country, every effort must be made to limit transmission. Workplace safety is paramount to ensuring the well-being of employees and their families, as well as the productivity of the company. To minimise the impact of the second wave on the workplace, public and private sector employers, as well as trade unions, must take the initiative to work together to spread the message of the ”safe back2work”. The Director-General thanked those responsible for the service they continue to provide and for changing the lives of citizens, especially the poorest of the poor, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. For more information, contact:Moses MushiCell: 082 972 6595E-mail: mosesm@dpsa.gov.za Dr Clarke said the deal was ”significant” in the context of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which led to an economic contraction of 10% in calendar year 2020 and just under 11% for the 2020/21 financial year. Under the deal, workers would receive a four percent increase in wages and some compensation. In addition, retroactive payments will come into effect on April 1 of this year.
The review will seek to address inequalities and inequalities in the structure of wages and benefits across the public service. The Director-General said wage negotiations have now been concluded and a collective agreement has been reached that has two components: a non-pensionable cash allowance, which will come into effect on 1 April 2021, as follows: Gayle said the one-year agreement is a temporary measure to reduce the economic burden on public sector workers. He noted that this new ”sustainment agreement” provides the ”bridge” that will allow the government to work diligently with the JCTU and other unions representing public sector workers who have not yet signed the document to begin implementing the compensation review. ”We also have agreements regarding the government`s willingness to help develop the land by contributing to infrastructure works and so on,” she said, ”If we can reach agreements with the remaining groups, it will be very important for us to achieve our goal of starting to implement the compensation review in April (2022).” Finance and Public Service Minister Nigel Clarke turned to the other public sector bargaining groups and invited them to the negotiating table to settle negotiations in time for the government to make payments by the end of December. Makhasi assured officials that ministry officials are working tirelessly to ensure the proper fulfilment of agreed commitments. ”We want to work with other unions and parties to collective bargaining to accelerate the conclusion of bargaining for this year so that we can make the deeper, more fundamental and structural changes that will improve the public sector work experience,” he added. The government and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) have signed a new 12-month agreement on a four per cent wage increase for an estimated 50,000 public sector workers for the period from April 2021 to March 2022. He said this had led to a decline in revenue inflows and that the government had not been able to start implementing the proposed public sector compensation review this year as originally planned.
The Director-General of the Ministry of Civil Service and Administration, Ms. Yoliswa Makhasi, took the opportunity to express her gratitude to the civil servants for their patience during the 2021/2022 salary negotiations. One of the things we have tried to do is to focus on people who are at the bottom of our pay scale in the public sector because of what we know they have experienced because of the decline in the economy. I think we have reached an agreement with which, even if they are not satisfied, they feel comfortable,” she said. In addition, Davis Whyte said the deal would also allow the government to provide more funds for the training and development of public sector workers through scholarships and grants. Yesterday`s signature represents about 50% of the total public sector equipment. The Ministry of Finance and the Civil Service and 11 members of the Joint Trade Union Confederation (JCTU) yesterday signed a one-year collective agreement on behalf of around 50,000 public sector workers. Clarke stressed the need for the ministry to start reviewing compensation from early April 2022, saying the government would be limited in providing quality services to Jamaicans if the public sector was unable to retain talent due to its compensation system. The unions that signed the collective agreement with the Ministry of Finance yesterday at the offices of the National Heroes Circle are the BITU, the Jamaican Public Service Association, the National Union of Workers, the University and Allied Workers Union, the Trade Union Congress, the Jamaica Association of Local Civil Servants, the Jamaican Union of Civil Servants and Civil Servants, the United Union of Jamaica, the Jamaican Workers` Union, the Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Staff Union and the School and Allied Workers` Union. Minister of Finance and Public Service Dr. Nigel Clarke and JCTU President Helene Davis Whyte signed the agreement on Friday (29 October) at a brief ceremony at the ministry in Kingston. The agreement includes a 1.5% wage increase for workers who were not entitled to a pensionable increase and a one-time non-pensionable allowance of between R1,220 and R1,695 on a sliding scale.
The agreement also provides for a one-time payment of $40,000 to public servants earning up to $1.5 million per year, as well as retroactive payments going back to April 1. ”We would like to thank the officials for their patience during the negotiations and remain very grateful for the service they continue to provide to change the lives of citizens, especially the poorest of the poor, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said. Considering that COVID-19 has led to late payments to government employees in several other countries, Dr Clarke said the government is ”known for allowing us to offer an increase in pay to public sector workers in the midst of the pandemic”. Dr Clarke and Ms Davis Whyte, who is also Secretary General of the Jamaica Association of Local Government Officials (JALGO), also thanked the Minister of State for the Treasury, the Honourable Marsha Smith, for her role in negotiating the agreement. In her remarks, Ms. Davis Whyte said that the provisions of the agreement ”represent the best we could have achieved under the circumstances [COVID-19].” He noted that the process looked at establishing appropriate salary scales and rates, as well as assessing roles in the public sector, ”so that it can inform a new type of compensation structure relevant to the value and value of public sector jobs.” The Ministry of Public Service and Administration on Thursday reaffirmed its commitment to the collective agreement it adopted last month with the majority of unions in the Public Service Coordinating Council. The increase may not be what we would have liked if the pandemic had not happened. But under these circumstances, this represents the best thing the Government of Jamaica can do, as it also needs to provide resources to deal with the impact of the pandemic on the health system and vulnerable people,” he noted. The agreement will be implemented as soon as possible, said the Director General of Public Service and Administration, Yoliswa Makhasi.
Helene Davis Whyte, president of the JCTU, told The Gleaner yesterday that the deal also allows workers earning up to $1.5 million a year to receive a one-time payment of $40,000. A one-time increase of 1.5% pensionable for all employees in salary levels 1 to 12: The one-time allowance will be introduced no later than September 15, 2021 and the implementation of the 1.5% pensionable increase will be announced as soon as possible. ”We will do what is necessary to start implementation in April, but the caveat is that we cannot afford to defer payment for this year to next year, as this will obviously compromise what we can do next year.” During tense and lengthy negotiations concluded in July, the latest offer was rejected by police unions, accepted by two teachers` unions and accepted by all unions in the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Fedusa). .