The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) is encouraged by a news report, implying that some progress has been made with the wage negotiations between the Government and the Public Sector workers.
Our understanding is that the Prime Minister has intervened and instructed that creative ways be found to compensate the Public Sector workers where possible. This is a position we have always maintained, as given the fiscal constraints it was always going to be necessary that “out of the box” methods are applied to arriving at a win-win situation. These “creative ways” however, we feel must not only be about finding available resources but must of necessity include a merit pay mechanism so that greater productivity is the result.
As an example, in the case of the Police, there is no doubt that there should be an objective measurement based on the crime statistics and the general law and order in the society. Achieving these present objectives could be funded by the proceeds of crime, which in turn would reduce crime and allow us to benefit from the four to six percent of GDP lost to crime in the country.
The President of the PSOJ, Mr. Howard Mitchell, stated that “The directive by the Prime Minister is encouraging, and it is our hope that there can be a speedy resolution, as it is important that the matter of the wage negotiations is settled so that we can focus our attention on growing the economy, which includes placing our emphasis behind ADDRESSING the problem of crime. While the wage negotiations remain incomplete, this can only be a distraction of the greater efforts of economic and social development.”
For further information contact:
Nickeshia Lindsay
Marketing and Public Relations Manager
Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica
39 Hope Road
Kingston 10,
Tel: (876) 927-6957/349-0128
Email: nickeshial@psoj.org