Governor links pay rises to productivity; unions cite revenue surge

Trade unions are gearing up for talks over public sector pay, with calls for wage increases amid reports of robust economic growth. The move comes as the current contract nears expiry, setting the stage for negotiations between the government and its employees.

With unions representing government employees scheduled to return to the bargaining table as the existing deal expires on June 30, the Central Bank is recommending that any increases must be linked to economic growth.

Central Bank Governor Dr Kevin Greenidge said during a press conference on Wednesday to review the economy in 2024 that while the government has to assess its ability to provide what it can, he will be advising it privately on what to do.

“But the truth be told, we have to be able to link any increase to economic growth; and not just any economic growth beyond a certain amount, because you don’t want to . . . when increases are higher than productivity, as determined by pace of economic growth, then you will get inflationary pressures,” Dr Greenidge contended.

At the same time, though, he is happy with the level of government revenue collected over the past year.

“Government’s revenue has performed well. It has performed well. Government continues to do things to improve its collections and the administration. So, yes, it’s performing well,” the governor declared.

But General Secretary of the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB), Dennis De Peiza, is adamant that public officers deserve salary and wage increases in light of the “robust growth” reported by the Central Bank.

“I don’t know how you can tell anybody in their right minds that you are having all of this growth and projected growth, and that you could tell them that it has to be linked to all of these other variables without recognising that as long as there is an uptake in the revenues, that there must be some provision made to give people, at least, some remuneration or reward,” De Peiza told Barbados TODAY.

He reasoned that it is through the productivity of the same employees that the country is able to experience such growth.

The CTUSAB leader argued that he could not see how the two could be separated.

“On the other hand,” the unionist added, “one has to take into consideration . . . not that all playing fields are level everywhere. We just heard in Guyana about the high level of increase which the public servants, [and] teachers got in that country. Why is that happening if Barbados is talking about all the high levels of intake in the tourism season, of the buoyancy that we have had for the last year, two years in most respects?”

He therefore questioned any notion that there is no room for salary and wage hikes, especially when the people are being told to share the burden and share the bounty.

“If the burden has been lifted then, I think it is only appropriate to give people something to say: ‘Hey, you have contributed and therefore you must be rewarded for it,’” De Peiza suggested.

The CTUSAB general secretary contended that while it is important to buy garbage trucks, as mentioned by Dr Greenidge, he is appealing to the Mia Mottley administration to spare a thought for the public workers who have contributed to the island’s good fortunes.

The Barbados Workers Union (BWU) has declined to comment at this time, while the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) spokesman was unavailable.

In February 2022, the government and this island’s labour unions reached an agreement in the public sector wages and salaries negotiations for the period 2022-2025.

The talks started on October 18 2022, with accredited trade unions and staff associations which represent officers in the public sector and state-owned enterprises in attendance.

On completion of four rounds of talks, an agreement was reached in more than half a dozen areas which included a one-off tax-free $1 500 lump sum payment for 2022-2023 for all individuals who on March 31 2023, would have been working in the public service and in state-owned enterprises that are dependent on the central government for recurring financial support. It was agreed that deductions would be made only for NIS for those people below the maximum insurable earnings ceiling to secure their pension entitlements.

The deal also called for cumulative salary increases of three per cent in 2023-2024 and three per cent in 2024-2025 across the board for all persons working in the public service and in state-owned enterprises that are dependent on the central government for recurring financial support.

Employees were also to enjoy cumulative increases in allowances of 10 per cent for 2022-2023; three per cent for 2023-2024 and three per cent for 2024-2025 for all persons receiving allowances who are working in the public service and in state-owned enterprises that are dependent on central government for recurring financial support.

The financial package also covered some non-salaried items, aimed at enhancing the overall employee experience of public officers.

These non-salaried items included, but were not limited to the creation of 22 posts of Master Teacher for the education ministry; ten posts of Specialist Nurses; establishment of a Grievance Monitoring Committee to track and resolve public sector grievances to meet monthly; and service-wide regrading and job evaluation exercise to start in 2023. 

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb