The threat of industrial action which hung over sections of the public sector Monday appeared to dissipate by late afternoon following a marathon meeting between officials of the Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA) and the Ministry of Finance.

Several Government ministries and departments, including tax offices and statutory bodies appeared set to shut down as the threat of industrial action loomed.

But late Monday evening, while there was no official indication from the JCSA that it has withdrawn its threat of industrial action, or from the finance ministry that the matter was settled, sources told the Jamaica Observer that a hint that some civil servants would be made to repay allowances that they had been paid so far this fiscal year had been resolved and a guaranteed 17.5 per cent increase in net pay for some people had been bumped up to 20 per cent.

JCSA President O’Neil Grant had sounded the alarm on Sunday as he pointed to a December 10 circular issued by the finance ministry which hinted that the new salaries of civil servants, who had agreed to the ministry’s compensation package, could be hit with refunds of the allowances which they had been paid been between April and November this year.

“This was never the intention of the discussions with the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service and this will cause serious industrial unrest in the public sector if not properly addressed,” warned Grant in a social media post.

“The unions were not aware of this; all our conversations up to this point indicated that there would be no recovery and we are totally surprised by Circular #24 which now speaks to the recovery of all amounts that were previously paid,” added Grant, in relation to the document which was released over the signature of Financial Secretary Darlene Morrison.

Grant charged that the instruction in Circular #24 would place travelling officers in serious jeopardy relative to their counterparts in the public sector, as the compensation restructuring did not benefit this category of officers and has sought to take away the few benefits which they had.

He said the JCSA was also concerned about Circular #20 in relation to certain allowances that are to be stopped that were not agreed with the Government.

Grant argued that the conversion template being used under the new scheme is supposed to convert the officers’ current pay to the new structure, ensuring that the requirement of a minimum increase of 17.5 per cent over the next three years is maintained, allocated as 7.5 per cent in year one; five per cent in year two; and five per cent in year three.

“Whilst the 17.5 per cent minimum guarantee was discussed, it was to treat those anomalous situations and not be the standard for all travelling officers,” Grant pointed out.

Circular #24, which has been seen by the Observer, includes a paragraph that says, “Calculate the amount already paid for salary and substantive allowances for the period April 1, 2022 to November 30, 2022; and the amount due under the new structure for the period April 1, 2022 to November 30, 2022. Insert into payroll under the appropriate headings, basic salary, taxable or non-taxable allowances.”

The circular further said the taxable allowances already paid should be reflected as negative values on the December pay slips of civil servants, sparking fears that the finance ministry had reneged on its commitment that the amounts already paid would not be recovered.

On November 22, Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke, responding to Opposition spokesman on finance Julian Robinson, told Parliament: “There will be no refunds required. We just go forward…we are not going to do anything by the way of refunds.”

At that time Clarke also promised that there would be no netting off of those amounts when the retroactive payments are paid this month.

“You’re using a very negative spin on it. Persons will have a new salary, effective the first of April, which will be higher on a net basis than their existing salary, and we will calculate that new salary for 10 months and the old salary for 10 months, and the difference will be paid as back pay. There is nothing about that that is complicated,” Clarke responded to Robinson.

Two days later, the finance ministry’s corporate communication and public relations unit issued a release in which it stated, “The Government has never planned to receive, and will not be recovering, allowances that have already been paid to public sector workers as part of the implementation of the new compensation system. Given the Government’s guarantee of a minimum increase in net compensation, there won’t be any requirements for employees to make any repayments of allowances already received.”

During the marathon meeting on Monday it was determined that the payroll processes to calculate the arrears would have caused some officers in receipt of some non-taxable allowances to become anxious about the methodology and its real impact on their retroactive amounts and monthly improved compensation.

The JCSA later indicated that the finance ministry agreed to provide a further guarantee to the most affected civil servants recognising that there was a need for review, given the outcomes arising from the calculation of arrears.

The ministry also agreed to move the 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent on net total compensation.