PUBLIC servants will be breathing a sigh of relief now that there has been no mention of last year’s controversial proposal for a five percent cut in their salaries by the government. The issue has so far not surfaced again this year.
In fact The VOICE has learned that while provisions were made in last year’s budget for the five percentcut this has not been done in this year’s budget. It therefore appears that the issue is now dead.
Efforts to get someone from the government side to speak on the subject have been unsuccessful. However, with parliamentarians set to debate this year’s budget next week, the matter could be cleared up once and for all.
In the meantime, the Civil Service Association (CSA), which has been steadfast in rejecting the government’s proposal for the five percent cut in salaries, had given the Government Negotiating Team an ultimatum in respect of the salary adjustment.
The CSA’s had suggested that the government take the proposal off the negotiating table as a pre-condition for continuing discussions on a new collective agreement
It has been months now since the CSA and the government’s negotiating team (GNT) have sat down to continue their negotiations.
“The onus is on government to call us,” the CSA’s vice president, Wilfred Pierre said yesterday.
The last time the two sides met, the CSA requested a letter from government stating that the five percent cut in salaries was no longer part of the negotiations.
The CSA has yet to receive a response to their request.
There are fears within the CSA, which first bring the proposal for the pay cut to the attention of the public that proposal, that the proposal could resurface if not this year then next year.
Many within the CSA are of the view that the proposal was legislated and as such could be acted upon by the government at any time.
However The VOICE has been informed that the proposal was never legislated hence the reason why government needed agreement from all the trade unions representing government employees to effect the proposal.
If it was legislated, we were told, government would have had no choice but to obey the law and adjust the salaries of workers.
