Public sector wage negotiations need to recommence, says CTUSAB

The Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) is calling for the Ministry of the Civil Service to move with alacrity to address the protracted nature of the negotiation regarding public sector wages and salaries.

In a press statement released this week, General Secretary of Dennis De Peiza voiced the CTUSAB’s concern about the length of time it has been taking to arrive at a new wages and salaries accord for Public Officers, contending that it is unacceptable.

According to the trade unionist, no meetings have been held with the Ministry of the Civil Service since April 21, 2017, and he said the Congress is dissatisfied with the slow pace of the talks. His comments came as he noted that prior to that April meeting; they had met on October 3 and 14, 2016. De Peiza referred to the slow pace of negotiations, as he indicated that they have been facing challenges with reaching an agreement on wages and salaries from as far as 2012.

“Your attention is drawn to the fact that negotiations for a new wages and salaries accord for the period April 2012 to March 2014 commenced on 6 November, 2012. Thereafter, there was a follow up meeting on 21 May, 2013. Subsequent to this, there was a hiatus of three years, where no meetings were scheduled by the Ministry of the Civil Service to continue the negotiations talks. In an effort to have a recommencement of the negotiations process, the CTUSAB in its letter dated 11 July, 2016 to the Ministry of the Civil Service, submitted a proposal for Public Sector Wages and Salaries to cover the period 2012 - 2015 and 2016-2018,” the statement read.

The General Secretary added in that correspondence sent to the Ministry of Civil Service on July 11, 2016, it was noted that with no salary increases having been granted to public sector since 2009, and therefore the salary gap between the private and public sectors would have widened for some positions. Moreover, it was noted that the accumulative loss in real gross salaries to public sector workers over the last negotiating period of 2008/9 to 2009/10 was 2.7 percent; with 16.6 percent recorded in the period 2010/11 to 2014/15.

CTUSAB is therefore calling for wages and salaries to be increased given that the introduction of a number of budgetary measures by government would have influenced the real income of workers; that the increases in indirect taxes and user charges/fees would have lowered the purchasing power of workers; and that the removal of several allowances and the imposition of a consolidation tax, would have lowered the nominal disposal income. (JRT)