The Government is continuing negotiations with the public sector trade unions in an effort to reach an agreement for salary increases for public sector workers for the next three years.
The government is eager to conclude these negotiations within the constraints of the Fiscal Responsibility legislation.
The Government Negotiating Team (GNT) recently held a second round of negotiations with public-sector unions, save and except Grenada Union of Teachers (GUT),
Though the discussions were cordial, little progress was made on the substantive issue of salary/wage increases for Public Service Employees for the current negotiating cycle.
The GNT is still hopeful of a successful conclusion.
The government is confident that all sides appreciate that increases for Public Service Employees is just one component of the Government’s expenditure. Through the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility legislation, Government has anchored the wage bill to national economic development. In so doing, the wage/salary bargaining process is now a data-driven, evidence-based process subject to the same fiscal discipline as the other areas of Government expenditure.
All parties adhere to the tenets of the Fiscal Responsibility Law (FRL) which has resulted in a high level of fiscal stability (namely, access to increase loan and grant financing, reduction in debt obligations) that the country now enjoys.
Therefore, wage/salary negotiations must proceed in line with the fiscal rules.
