BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Barbados government reached an agreement with public sector trade unions resulting in workers getting a one-off payment of BDS $1 500 (One Barbados dollar = 50 U.S. cents) as well as a six percent salary increase over the next two years and a 16 percent hike in allowances up to 2025.
Under the agreement, which was reached on Tuesday following four rounds of negotiations, chaired by Director General in the Ministry of the Public Service Penelope Linton, there will also be a regrading and job evaluation exercise across the public service this year, and a committee set up to address employee grievances.
The National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), representing the most significant number of public sector employees, welcomed the settlement as reasonable. At the same time, the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) described the negotiations as successful based on the principle of “give and take.”
NUPW general secretary, Richard Greene, told reporters that “the agreement entails a BDS$1 500 lump sum payment that is tax-free that will only include National Insurance deductions to maintain the pension entitlement, and that would be for the year 2022.
He said the pay increase will be three percent in 2023-2024 and for the year 2024-2025, three percent.
In a statement, the Ministry of Public Service said they would be given to “all persons who, on March 31 of this year, will have been working in the Public Service and State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) dependent on central Government for recurring financial support.
“Those State Owned Enterprises not relying on the central government for their recurring financial support will be encouraged to conclude any outstanding salaries and wages negotiations in short order,” it added.
Greene said that during the talks to settle, the union acted on the mandate given by its members “to be firm but reasonable and look at all options available to get the best possible deal to bring back some parity between the increase in the cost of living and increases in the wages and salaries.”
Describing the negotiations as cordial and frank, he said the Central Bank of Barbados and the Ministry of Finance had outlined the “true extent of the Barbados economy and the NUPW, being a responsible union, took into account all of the factors and pressed hard for a settlement that was going to bring some ease to the burden of the cost of living on members.”
CTUSAB president Edwin O’Neal said that in negotiations, getting everything demanded is not always practical.
“We understand the process of negotiations. You will not always get everything you want, but it is a process in which both sides should participate, and it will be a give-and-take situation. If that is the definition or aspect of negotiations, then the negotiations were successful based on the principle of give and take.”
He said CTUSAB had negotiated on behalf of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT), the Police Association of Barbados (PAB), the Barbados Fire Officers Association (BFOA), the Barbados Nurses Association (BNA), the Nursing Assistants, Aides Association of Barbados (NAAAB), and the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP).
The statement from the Ministry of the Public Service also disclosed that outside of the financial package, the parties also agreed on a series of non-salaried items “aimed at enhancing the overall employee experience of public officers.”
These include the creation of 22 master teacher posts and ten specialist nurse posts; the establishment of a Grievance Monitoring Committee to meet monthly to track and resolve public officers’ grievances; a public service-wide regrading and job evaluation exercise to begin this year; and the inclusion of additional posts in the general officers’ loan and travel allowances framework.
The ministry said, “it is envisaged that the above initiatives, coupled with the increase in remuneration, will allow for the retention of valuable public service skills, upward mobility, and the maintenance of harmonious labor-management relationships in the public sector and State Owned Enterprises.
“The Government of Barbados has recognized that its employees continue to give dedicated service and make selfless sacrifices. This is notwithstanding all of the challenges that we have faced as a nation over the last three years, ranging from the great loss of life, mental stress, and national economic decline related to the COVID-19 pandemic, to the volcanic ashfall from La Soufriere, to the freak storm and Hurricane Elsa that affected us.”
It added that given these complex and uncertain times, and despite being in an International Monetary Fund-sponsored program, the parties regarded the agreement as “a fair, reasonable and sustainable settlement that recognizes the importance and value of the workers within the public sector.”
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