Jamaica Government negotiates with Unions

The government is currently in negotiations with the unions representing the various working groups with a view to settling the outstanding pay rises that were promised.  The government has asked for one year of the back pay to be given up or to accept payment over two years starting in the 2012-2013 financial year.  However one by one each group has rejected all proposals put forward and has insisted upon full payment of the amount due.  In addition the Prime Minister has announced the proposed reduction in the size of government by 10,000 persons over the next five years.  A significant number of these persons will be those reaching retirement age that will not be replaced unless they provide a critical service.  However the Unions who all said that the government is inefficient and overstaffed now say that they are not prepared to accept any cuts in staff.

The problem that arises for me is that a negotiation implies a compromise in order to arrive at a solution.  However it seems that the Unions are not budging from their position at all.  It therefore seems unlikely that a resolution to the problem will be attained.  Now I must agree with the Unions that the seven percent increase was negotiated in good faith and therefore they should expect to receive what they were promised.  However, by taking the position that staff is not to be cut, they have removed all the options open to the government.

The problem that we have does not really stem from this administration but reflects the reality of an economy that has had little growth over the past twenty years.  For too long we have accepted an inefficient system of government which has been over staffed and underpaid.  If correct decisions were taken years ago we would not have this issue today.

The Unions do not seem to recognise that private sector employees have lost their jobs and that many persons are now doing the work of two persons which is in effect a job cut. In addition new jobs are being offered at lower salaries.  The worldwide economic recession has caused governments all over the world to cut jobs or to cut pay.  The Unions seem to think that this is not relevant to their situation.

The reality is that there have been problems on both sides but now is the time to move forward.  This country’s future depends on the government’s ability to balance the budget and grow the economy.  A change of government will not change the country’s financial situation and will not result in the payment of the retroactivity.  Neither will a strike by the different sectors help the situation but would rather finish off the economy altogether.

 The only solution is for both sides to compromise and focus on growing the economy so that salaries can be increased which is the main need of the workers.