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Either we freeze wages or send home 22,000 workers, says Golding
Thursday, April 09, 2009
PRIME Minister Bruce Golding issued a solemn warning yesterday that the choice facing the Government was to pay wage increases being sought or send home 22,000 public sector employees in the worst economic conditions in recent memory.
"The Government does not have the ability to pay. And it is on that basis that... we are forced to appeal to the workers to forego the increases that would have been due this year," Golding told newsmen at a tense post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.
His statement drew the immediate ire of at least one trade union which accused the administration of abandoning their social partnership and jeopardising any future Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
St Patrice Ennis, general secretary of the Union of Technical Administrative and Supervisory Personnel (UTASP), told the Observer yesterday that the partnership with Government and private sector had been shattered.
"If we are partners, and this is a social partnership, then surely one partner cannot unilaterally decide how you should treat an agreement. You must have a discussion to decide how to treat the issues that may arise during the contractual period in a manner befitting partners," Ennis said.
"The discussion is important, was important. Because even if we would have agreed to a freeze for some workers with years left before retirement, we would have wanted to put something in place for those going on retirement. Their pension will be affected by this unilateral action." Ennis insisted.
The wider union position on the prime minister's announcement is expected to come today when the executive of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Union (JCTU) meets.
As an apparent precursor to his request for a wage freeze, Golding last weekend announced he was himself foregoing a seven per cent salary increase due April 1, 2009 and cutting his pay by 15 per cent, at the same time urging his parliamentary colleagues to take a 10 per cent pay cut.
Yesterday, Golding argued that any movement upwards in the $115 billion set aside for the public sector wage bill would result in thousands of job losses.
"This turmoil, this tsunami that we are going through is not yet over. It has not had all of its impact on us yet," he said.
The prime minister also announced that in addition to appointing Dwight Nelson to run the national security ministry, he had retained him to continue wage talks with public sector workers and their unions that started while he was minister without portfolio in the finance ministry.
"In those discussions we have put the position of the Government squarely on the table. There is an important criterion in any wage negotiations scenario. And that is, ability to pay." said Golding. "This is arithmetic we are talking about. The Government does not have any money to increase that public sector wage bill beyond where it is now."
He reiterated that some accommodation would have to be made for the nursing fraternity which did not get an increase last year, and added: "If we were to pay the increases that are due (to the public sector), including the adjustments that the teachers have expected to bring them to 80 per cent of market, then the $115 billion that we have provided in the budget for wages, would need another $34 billion in order for us to be able to satisfy that claim... If we are to honour those claims, it would cause Jamaica's credit rating to be downgraded to the lowest that we have ever seen; it would cause interest rate to go up; it would put pressure on the foreign exchange rate. It is just not possible."
He said the country and the public sector workers must understand that "like everything else in life, we have choices. For every $1.5 billion more that we would have to find, we would have to make redundant the jobs of 1,000 workers. And therefore if we have to find $34 billion to meet the claims, your arithmetic is better than mine."
"We would need to lay off about 22,000 workers from the government service. That is what we have sought to avoid. We have sought to avoid it, not only because it would be tough and it will be hard on workers, coming at a time when there are no jobs available," the prime minister stated.
He acknowledged that there was room for the upgrading of the skills in the public sector, as well as re-deployment and synchronising of the skills.
Pointing to the example of trained police investigators, he said there were still too many of them doing clerical work.
On the other hand, Golding promised to strengthen the social safety net in recognition that there were persons who would not normally be in need of assistance, but who would now need help. In that regard, focus would be placed on nutrition, particularly among children, he said.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...KED_CHOICE.asp
Thursday, April 09, 2009
PRIME Minister Bruce Golding issued a solemn warning yesterday that the choice facing the Government was to pay wage increases being sought or send home 22,000 public sector employees in the worst economic conditions in recent memory.
"The Government does not have the ability to pay. And it is on that basis that... we are forced to appeal to the workers to forego the increases that would have been due this year," Golding told newsmen at a tense post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.
His statement drew the immediate ire of at least one trade union which accused the administration of abandoning their social partnership and jeopardising any future Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
St Patrice Ennis, general secretary of the Union of Technical Administrative and Supervisory Personnel (UTASP), told the Observer yesterday that the partnership with Government and private sector had been shattered.
"If we are partners, and this is a social partnership, then surely one partner cannot unilaterally decide how you should treat an agreement. You must have a discussion to decide how to treat the issues that may arise during the contractual period in a manner befitting partners," Ennis said.
"The discussion is important, was important. Because even if we would have agreed to a freeze for some workers with years left before retirement, we would have wanted to put something in place for those going on retirement. Their pension will be affected by this unilateral action." Ennis insisted.
The wider union position on the prime minister's announcement is expected to come today when the executive of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Union (JCTU) meets.
As an apparent precursor to his request for a wage freeze, Golding last weekend announced he was himself foregoing a seven per cent salary increase due April 1, 2009 and cutting his pay by 15 per cent, at the same time urging his parliamentary colleagues to take a 10 per cent pay cut.
Yesterday, Golding argued that any movement upwards in the $115 billion set aside for the public sector wage bill would result in thousands of job losses.
"This turmoil, this tsunami that we are going through is not yet over. It has not had all of its impact on us yet," he said.
The prime minister also announced that in addition to appointing Dwight Nelson to run the national security ministry, he had retained him to continue wage talks with public sector workers and their unions that started while he was minister without portfolio in the finance ministry.
"In those discussions we have put the position of the Government squarely on the table. There is an important criterion in any wage negotiations scenario. And that is, ability to pay." said Golding. "This is arithmetic we are talking about. The Government does not have any money to increase that public sector wage bill beyond where it is now."
He reiterated that some accommodation would have to be made for the nursing fraternity which did not get an increase last year, and added: "If we were to pay the increases that are due (to the public sector), including the adjustments that the teachers have expected to bring them to 80 per cent of market, then the $115 billion that we have provided in the budget for wages, would need another $34 billion in order for us to be able to satisfy that claim... If we are to honour those claims, it would cause Jamaica's credit rating to be downgraded to the lowest that we have ever seen; it would cause interest rate to go up; it would put pressure on the foreign exchange rate. It is just not possible."
He said the country and the public sector workers must understand that "like everything else in life, we have choices. For every $1.5 billion more that we would have to find, we would have to make redundant the jobs of 1,000 workers. And therefore if we have to find $34 billion to meet the claims, your arithmetic is better than mine."
"We would need to lay off about 22,000 workers from the government service. That is what we have sought to avoid. We have sought to avoid it, not only because it would be tough and it will be hard on workers, coming at a time when there are no jobs available," the prime minister stated.
He acknowledged that there was room for the upgrading of the skills in the public sector, as well as re-deployment and synchronising of the skills.
Pointing to the example of trained police investigators, he said there were still too many of them doing clerical work.
On the other hand, Golding promised to strengthen the social safety net in recognition that there were persons who would not normally be in need of assistance, but who would now need help. In that regard, focus would be placed on nutrition, particularly among children, he said.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...KED_CHOICE.asp
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