Gov’t, JCTU Sign New Three-Year Public-Sector Wage Agreement

The Government and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) have formally signed a public-sector wage agreement for the contract period April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2028.

The package includes an $80,000 tax-free, one-time grant in the first year of the agreement, a five per cent salary increase for the 2026/27 financial year, and a further five per cent increase for 2027/28.

The agreement was signed by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, and the heads of trade unions representing government workers at the Ministry’s office in Kingston on Thursday (August 27).

The union representatives included Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) President, St. Patrice Ennis; Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA) President, Techa Clarke-Griffiths; Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) President-General, Kavan Gayle; and University and Allied Workers’ Union (UAWU) President, Senator Lambert Brown.

In her remarks, Mrs. Williams emphasised that the agreement was reached amid extraordinary circumstances following Hurricanes Beryl and Melissa, which resulted in an estimated US$8.8 billion in physical damage across the island.

“The assessment by ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) and the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) puts the total at close to 57 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product). In a single night, we lost the equivalent of more than half of everything this country produces in a year. The consequences of that go straight to public finances,” she stated.

The Minister pointed out that tax revenues fell below projections last year, the country is facing a medium-term fiscal deficit, and Parliament had to approve the suspension of the fiscal rules.

“Compensation of employees now stand at close to 13.5 per cent of GDP. By the end of fiscal year 2026/27, wages are expected to account for 54.4 per cent of tax collection, up from 44.9 per cent just four years ago,” Mrs. Williams informed.

She noted that when a country experiences a shock of the magnitude Jamaica faced, the conventional response is often to impose a wage freeze; however, the Government chose a different approach.

“There is no freeze in this agreement. There are no layoffs. There is no deferral of what was already owed. The one-off payment for 2025/26 and the two five per cent increases and the increments are funded… and the provision was made in the estimates,” the Minister stated.

She emphasised that while the decision was deliberate, it would come at a cost to the nation.

“It means that other things that we wanted to do will move more slowly. It means the return to our debt anchor… our debt-to-GDP target… takes longer. We accepted that, because a public service that cannot pay its bills at home cannot be asked to hold a country together in a crisis,” Mrs. Williams maintained.

She acknowledged that while the wage increase does not fully offset the inflationary pressures facing public-sector workers, “it is a real increase, honestly funded in a very tough year”.

“Five per cent together with two and a half per cent increment gives most workers seven and a half per cent this year. Measured against inflation, as it stands today, that is roughly holding your ground. Measured against where inflation is expected to be by the end of this year and through the life of this agreement, it should mean a modest real gain,” Mrs. Williams emphasised.

The Minister also acknowledged that some matters remain unresolved, as elements of the agreement outside the wage component are still under discussion, and assured that the Ministry will continue the discussions in good faith.

“We’re signing this agreement… in the hardest fiscal circumstances this country has faced in a generation. It is not everything the unions asked for… but it is a real increase, funded with no freeze, no layoffs, and no deferrals, agreed with a workforce that carried this country through a catastrophe and is carrying it through the recovery now,” she affirmed.

Mrs. Williams further acknowledged State Minister, Hon. Zavia Mayne, noting that he played an active role in the negotiations.

In his remarks, Mr. Ennis applauded the Minister’s leadership in bringing the wage component of the negotiations to a close.

“We must recognise the patience that you have had, because it has been long. We served claim in November of 2024… we have had many meetings… but we know your hand was always at the wheel… guiding this process,” he stated.

Mr. Ennis emphasised that the negotiations were conducted in a calm and cordial atmosphere, free of rancour.

“We were firm… and we know the situation. We believe we took the negotiation as far as we could, and we believe it is an agreement that reflects the hard work [of] the team from the Ministry of Finance, and the diligence of the team from the JCTU,” the President outlined.

Mr. Ennis emphasised that this agreement is the first of several to be concluded with the respective bargaining units.

He thanked the JCTU team for its diligence and public-sector employees for their patience as the Union negotiated on their behalf.