Davies and Campbell SALARY NEGOTIATIONS between the Government and civil servants resume next Tuesday, with the issue of a commitment to raise their pay to at least 80 per cent of market value topping the bill.
The proposal, often referred to as "the 80 per cent of market value pro-posal", was agreed to by the Government in the 1992/93 salaries negotiations. A study was done by PriceWater-houseCoopers nearly two years ago and recommendations made to the Govern-ment last year, yet implementation has been delayed since. But, Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA) president, Eddie Bailey, told The Gleaner that the civil servants believe that it is time for its implementation.
"We are not too concerned about the salaries issue in the current negotiations. We are relying on the implementation of the 80 per cent of market proposal to have the major effect on salaries this year and it is the main item on our agenda in these talks," said Mr. Bailey.
Following the release of the recommendations by PriceWaterhouseCoopers last year, the Government had requested time to study them. Now, the civil servants are saying that enough time has been given for that study and it is time for implementation.
There are concerns, however, that the Government may not be able to finance the 1999-2001 contract which is still being negotiated, much less to meet the financing of bringing the salaries of the civil servants to within 80 per cent of those paid in the private sector.
The Jamaica Memorandum of the Budget 2001/2002 commits the Government to settle all contracts outstanding since 1998 during the current financial year. However, the $200 million allocated in the Estimates for Contingencies, which usually finances the increases, is way below normal provisions. The 2000/2001 provision was $2.6 b.
This also is of concern to some Ministries who will have to finance new salary settlements this year.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Technology, Colin Campbell, raised the issue during this year's Standing Finance Committee meetings on the budget.
He asked Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Omar Davies, whether this meant that the Ministries would have to absorb the increases into their budgets. Dr. Davies promised that his Ministry's Establishments Division would alert respective Ministries of any increases agreed to. He also reassured public sector workers that whatever agreement was reached would be met, but warned that they would have to be on a phased basis. He made no mention of the 80 per cent of market issue.
Indications during the current negotiations between the Ministry of Finance and Planning and the civil servants, chaired by Minister of State, Michael Peart, are that the Government wants to delay implementation beyond this year. But, Mr. Bailey said that enough time has already been spent on the issue and it was time for immediate implementation.
The civil servants' dispute with the Government has already been before the Permanent Salaries Review Board(PSRB), which has made its recommendations. Those recommendations were discussed last week between the Ministry and the JCSA.
The last contract between the Government and the civil servants expired on March 31, 2000.
