Regrading, wage talks ahead for public sector

Prime Minister Mia Mottley has announced that public sector regrading exercises will begin within the next few weeks, with wage negotiations to follow for the next three years.

She divulged this information during remarks at the Barbados Workers’ Union Family and Picnic Affair at the Botanical Gardens on Friday.

Mottley explained that the process is intended to bring structure and agreement across the sector.

The Prime Minister also used her address to signal a broader shift in economic policy, centred on ownership and investment opportunities for workers.

She told the gathering that this current term of government is about more than earnings, stating, “This term must be about making Bajans owners.”

Mottley explained that while wage improvements remain important, government is also seeking to open pathways for ordinary workers to participate in national investment projects.

Among the areas identified were transport, water systems, renewable energy and data infrastructure, with Mottley pointing to large-scale projects that will require significant capital investment and a wider base of participation.

She said, “The scale of what we need…is more than what we can do alone on our own, from water plants to photovoltaics to wind farms to battery storage to data centres. All of these things will constitute over a billion dollars in investment, and we are simply saying that while each of the individual workers may feel intimidated in understanding this can work or this ain’t gonna work, we can create systems to help show that nobody should put all their eggs in one basket.”

The Prime Minister stressed that the objective is to broaden wealth creation beyond wages, encouraging citizens to think about long-term financial participation rather than relying solely on low-yield savings.

“What is happening is that Bajans are putting their money in the banking system, drawing 0.1 per cent in savings interest rate, but the inflation is 1 per cent this year. If it goes to 2 or 3 per cent, instead of it being 10 times worse than what you’re getting from the bank, it could be 20 or 30 or 40 times, and for that to happen, for you not to be a victim of that, the process of enfranchisement and ownership of shares matters.”

She added that the government is not prescribing individual decisions but is instead creating pathways and structures for participation.

Mottley said the approach will rely on collaboration between public and private financial institutions, including pension funds, credit unions and insurance companies, to support national development projects.