Public-sector wage deal sealed

After tough and sometimes stalled negotiations between the Government and unions representing public-sector workers, an agreement has been reached on wages for the three-year period from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2028.

St Patrice Ennis, president of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU), told The Gleaner yesterday that the unions have agreed to a one-off payment of $80,000 for the period April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026.

Additionally, the Government has improved its wage offer from seven per cent over the three-year period to 10 per cent.

This means that public-sector workers will receive a five per cent increase for the period April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027, and another five per cent increase for the period April 1, 2027 to March 31, 2028.

“The five per cent in year two represents about $24 billion, and in year three represents about $28 billion,” said Ennis, who also pointed out that the one-off payment would amount to $9 billion.

At the same time, Techa Clarke-Griffiths, president of the 30,000-strong Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA), told The Gleaner yesterday that 93 per cent of her members voted to accept the Government’s latest wage offer.

She said approximately 1,000 JCSA members were polled online, with the results showing that a large majority accepted the Government’s wage package for the three-year period.

The JCTU has said that the agreement represents only the wage component of the negotiated settlement.

Ennis also noted that the Government would have to pay the two-and-a-half per cent increment to public-sector workers, which would total $12.5 billion.

The JCTU head indicated that the one-off $80,000 payment to public-sector workers would represent a more meaningful package for employees earning at the lower end of the pay scale or little above the minimum wage.

The conclusion of the wage aspect of the agreement between the unions and the Government comes at a time when budgetary projections for the April to June quarter are reportedly below target by some $27 billion.

During negotiations, Ennis said the unions highlighted the difficult position in which public-sector workers found themselves, with the inflation rate running above the Bank of Jamaica’s four to six per cent target.

Ennis told The Gleaner that the three-year wage agreement would also address concerns raised by Fiscal Commissioner Courtney Williams, who cautioned against what he called the misalignment of wage-negotiation cycles among public-sector bodies, their unions and the Government.

The fiscal commissioner had said that for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, unions had presented their claims sometime in November 2024 in anticipation of the new fiscal year, yet several matters remained unsettled up to the time of his observation earlier this year.

editorial@gleanerjm.com