CTUSAB says increased allowances only affect 0.5 per cent of public sector employees

Less than one per cent of public servants would benefit from Government’s proposed increase in allowances and therefore it cannot be a substitute for a salary increase.

So says general secretary of the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB), Dennis DePeiza, who said the umbrella body was looking forward to discussions with Government regarding a wage hike for public servants.

On Friday during a press conference Prime Minister Mia Mottley said only after talks with the trade unions would it be determined if a salary increase was probable at this time.

However, Mottley said Government had committed to reviewing allowances of public servants, which she said had not increased since 2009.

In an interview with Barbados TODAY, DePeiza made it clear he would not be making any comments on salary negotiations until discussions were completed.

“The whole question of wage and salary negotiations is not one that CTUSAB believes is carried out in the press, we do not believe in that. Secondly, we do not believe that the comments from either party should be made in any manner that would seemingly prejudice the discussions which would take place at the level of the Ministry of the Public Service because obviously we do not negotiate with the Prime Minister,” DePeiza said.

“We are not into the sensationalism of this issue of wages and salaries, that is not how we treat to it. But we strongly believe there is a good reason for public officers to be given some level of salary increase.”

He acknowledged that CTUSAB did not view allowances as an adequate replacement for a salary increase.

He said only an extremely small number of Government workers would benefit.

“We cannot limit ourselves to any public sector wages increase that speaks to allowances. Allowances are part of a condition of service and that can be part of the discussions but it cannot be that you can talk about a salary increase that you are concentrating on less than probably 0.5 per cent of the public officers in Barbados who benefit from that so that is a non-starter…” DePeiza said.

“We know that is something that cannot hold water in any salary negotiations, specifically to giving a small percentage of persons, because it will be less than one per cent of public officers who will benefit from allowances, depending on the type of jobs that there are doing. Therefore we cannot look at a public service of 22 000 people and speak to what might only apply to 1000 or less.”

When contacted for comment general secretary of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) Richard Green could not be reached up to the time of publication. randybennett@barbadostoday.bb