Negotiations With Public Sector Workers Have Started

Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon Peter Phillips says negotiations with public sector workers are proceeding “in good faith.”

Speaking in an interview with JIS News on Wednesday February 25, the Finance Minister said most of the discussions so far have been to clarify issues.

“The section of the Ministry being led by Minister Horace Dalley, responsible for those negotiations, are proceeding to answer questions, resolve any difficulties (or) lack of information and then they are going to sit down with the key groups and proceed with those submissions that are most likely to bring it to conclusion,” Dr. Phillips explained

The negotiations are taking place in the context of the wage freeze for Public Sector workers which will come to an end this fiscal year and the government hopes to conclude the negotiations by March 31 in time for the start of the 2015/16 fiscal year.

Dr. Phillips told journalists at a press briefing on February 19, that provisions have been made in the 2015/16 budget for an increase of about 3.4 percent in salaries for public sector workers.

This he said does not include contingencies provided for, pending the completion of the negotiations with public sector workers.

In the meantime, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission chief to Jamaica, Dr. Jan Kees Martjin announced recently at a press conference to mark the completion of the 7th IMF quarterly review that the Jamaican authorities have outlined in the 2015/16 budget that it intends to maintain the wage bill in line with the budget allocation.

The commitment which forms part of the country’s programme with the IMF is to reduce the wage bill to nine percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2016/17.