Unions prep for public sector pay talks

The major trade unions said Thursday they are ready to enter long-awaited pay talks with the government, as both sides prepare for a crucial new round of wage and salary negotiations in the coming months.

The Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) and the umbrella trade union body, the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB), have all reported being in a state of readiness or near readiness to negotiate for better pay and working conditions for their members.

But while facilitating the conclusion of the job regrading in the public service — which will influence the talks with government — the BWU is expressing concern about the length of time the exercise is taking.

General secretary Toni Moore told Barbados TODAY: “The Executive Council of the Barbados Workers’ Union is well advanced in much of the internal preparatory work that is required for the upcoming round of salary and wages negotiations and stands ready to engage with the government at the earliest opportunity.”

“As agreed, the union allowed for the uninterrupted completion of the job evaluation exercise, recognising that its findings will have direct implications, not only for wages, but also for wider terms and conditions of employment.” 

“Like the workers we represent, the BWU is concerned about the length of time the process has taken. We remain hopeful that the report, once delivered, will be of a standard that allows the parties to move forward without any further unnecessary delay.”

The BWU therefore awaits the presentation of the job evaluation report before finalising its submissions for the revision of the collective agreement with the government, she said.

The NUPW said its process for fresh talks on a new wages, salaries and conditions of employment contract has already started.

General Secretary Richard Greene told Barbados TODAY: “The National Council of the NUPW has approved a committee to formulate recommendations and proposals for increased salaries and wages; and this committee is about to start its work. The committee is broad-based. The intention is to look across the public service, to see where there are deficiencies, but also where there are opportunities for improvement in terms and conditions for public officers.”

These benefits would include not only salaries and wages, but allowances and other terms and conditions.

He said he was putting public workers on notice that the process has started internally, and the union is moving ahead on the instructions of the National Council and on his advice.

CTUSAB said the umbrella organisation’s internal mechanism for preparing for such negotiations is already gearing up for the upcoming talks.

General Secretary Dennis De Peiza told Barbados TODAY: “We are guided by economic research; and we are at the stage where our research paper has been commissioned. And as soon as that paper is presented to us by our expert, we will then fine-tune our position.

“But we already know some of our conditions of service that we will bring to the table. Some are ongoing and some, we want to further attend to; then the actual dollar figures will come out of our research study and so forth. We have our parameters set up… we have certain understandings… that will come out of the economic research… because you have to have some basis on which to make an argument.”

On Wednesday, the government laid in Parliament its Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the 2026–27 fiscal year, setting out what the Mia Mottley administration expects to spend — including wages and salaries for public officers — and how much it expects to earn.