KINGSTON, Jamaica — Local human rights organisation, Stand Up For Jamaica, is questioning the timing of the decision by Prime Minister Andrew Holness to accept the $28.6 million salary increase under the public sector compensation review when Jamaicans are buckling under new taxes and piecing their lives back together after Hurricane Melissa.

“While we at Stand Up For Jamaica acknowledge that Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness is technically within his rights to accept the $28.6 million salary adjustment under the public sector compensation review, we must challenge the judgment behind the decision,” the advocacy group said in a news release.

Pointing to the recently announced new taxes and the many Jamaicans still recovering from the Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, it said, “This move reeks of tone-deafness and a profound disconnect from the very people the administration is meant to serve.”

Stand Up For Jamaica stressed that it is not arguing that the prime minister is undeserving of fair compensation, as his role as prime minister is arduous, carries immense responsibility and requires 24/7 engagement, but questioned the timing of the decision to accept the salary increase.

“When Dr Holness declined this very increase in 2023, he was lauded as a leader who understood the public backlash and the need for symbolic solidarity. He stated then that the decision was binding for the future, creating an impression of permanence. Now, citing a “new mandate”, the administration has reversed that stance. Worse, the implementation has been retroactively applied to September 2025, and the official explanation notes that the rollout was merely delayed because of Hurricane Melissa,” Stand Up for Jamaica said.

The group described the situation as “deeply troubling”, noting that it suggests that a catastrophic natural disaster, which left 45 dead, caused over US$8.8 billion in damage and displaced students and families, was treated as a scheduling inconvenience rather than a reason for profound national restraint.

“Just weeks ago, Finance Minister Fayval Williams stood before a battered nation to announce a suite of tax increases. Jamaicans are now facing a special consumption tax on basic non-alcoholic beverages, an extension of GCT to digital services, and increased duties on everyday items. These are not abstract fiscal policies; they are direct hits to the pockets of citizens still waiting for roofs to be repaired and lights to be restored in the western parts of the island,” it said.

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Stand Up For Jamaica said that when a government imposes “austerity” on its people, it demands a reciprocal display of “austerity” from its leadership.

“By accepting a raise that moves his compensation from $9 million to $28.6 million, an increase larger than most Jamaicans will earn in a lifetime, the prime minister has created a situation whereby funds that could have gone to accelerating the rebuilding of the hurricane-ravaged parts of the country will now have to be reallocated to foot the bill for his compensation,” it said.