The Barbados government says it is ready to resume negotiations regarding the salaries and wages for members of the public service following the adjournment of talks in December last year.
A government statement said its negotiating team, led by the Ministry of the Public Service, and including representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and Investment, and the Central Bank of Barbados, is prepared for the resumption of the talks with the agreement of all parties.
The negotiation process for the public sector was launched October 18, 2022, with representatives from the island’s trade unions and staff associations in attendance.
“At that meeting, the broad parameters of the negotiation framework were discussed, including inter alia, the global challenges faced by middle-income countries such as Barbados, in securing finances, the shocks that impacted Barbados at the national level, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the decline in the tourism market and the impact of the volcanic ash fall,” the statement noted.
It said, notably, all parties made a commitment to maintain the confidentiality of the negotiation exercise and that during the ensuing period October 19 -24, 2022, the negotiating team engaged the various trade unions/workers’ representative bodies.
It said the first round of the salary negotiation process was completed October 24, and workers’ representatives were invited to submit adjusted proposals that would take into consideration Government’s limitations on paying significant across-the-board salary increases, given its constrained fiscal space.
“In the spirit of that agreement, the various union/employee representatives submitted amended proposals between November 2 and 18, 2022, and a second round of negotiations commenced on November 2,” the statement said, adding that a consensus was reached that the second round of the negotiation process would be paused for the month of December, given the exigencies communicated by the trade union/workers’ representatives.
“The government’s negotiating team stands ready to resume the 2022-2023 salaries discussion in the spirit of its commitment to our valued stakeholders in the public sector, as well as their representatives,” the statement added.
CMC/
