MONTEGO BAY, St James – Prime Minister Andrew Holness has assured affected public sector workers that the Government will rectify anomalies stemming from the recent public sector compensation programme.

“So if the public sector is such an important variable in us achieving growth and one of their main concerns is the level of their compensation, then the Government at the same time we are asking for better service we also have to address the issue of their compensation.

“A lot of people have been positively impacted by the compensation change, a lot of people. But they are not going to say. Those who have challenges, they must keep raising their voices so that nobody forgets them and so that their challenges can be addressed. And I know that there are some issues out there that need to be resolved. And I am saying to you, this is not a closed matter. We are still working with the relevant agencies. Those who have concerns, those who have not been addressed to make sure that they are addressed that there are no anomalies or distortions remaining, and that’s the commitment of the Government. I understand the complaints, but I am asking for some patience, I am ask for understanding, and I am saying to you, keep a positive outlook. These matters are going to be addressed,” he added.

Speaking at a town hall meeting at Harmony Beach Park in Montego Bay Wednesday night, the prime minister made it clear that he was not in support of politicians being paid “disproportionately greater than anyone else”.

“So the question is, well, the extent of what was paid to the elected officials versus what everybody else got, was that fair? That’s a legitimate question. It’s a just question to ask. My answer outside of the present circumstances would be that politicians should not be paid disproportionately greater than anyone else. That’s my honest and genuine belief. But why did this happen? Why were politicians, I’m using the word politicians, but why were our elected officials, the ministers, the parliamentarians, and the councillors? Why were they paid disproportionately to everyone else in some categories?” he asked.

Holness offered that one of the factors which contributed to elected officials being so handsomely compensated now was because of the failure of previous Administrations to increase their salaries out of fear of political backlash.

In fact, he noted that the last time that politicians received a pay increase was way back during the PJ Patterson-led Administration in 2002.

“Well, first of all, because administrations, knowing the sensitivities of this pay issue, did not want to take the political risk to keep the elected officials pay in step with inflation and with the adjustments in salaries.

“So the last time that politicians got a salary adjustment was in 2002. People forget the history that when the PJ Patterson Administration announced the 102 per cent pay increase, I was just a newby in Parliament, it was uproar and turmoil in the society, and he appointed the Oliver Clarke committee to review it,” Holness reflected.

“And then the Oliver Clarke committee gave a report to Parliament. You know what they did after that? They appointed a committee, headed by Omar Davies, to review the review. By 2003 the second part of the increase had to be scrapped, you know why? Because the Government then had to impose a wage freeze. So they didn’t get the full increase, the full adjustment. So now we have put in place a system that will bring their pay to the correct level that they should be, which is just a huge jump,” he added.

He argued that the next phase of “your Government strategic redevelopment of the country is about what we call performance-based compensation, performance systems, performance accountability, towards improving productivity.

“We must get more out of every hour of work in the day. I know it is going to set off all kind of alarm and quarrel and all kind of things in the society. We have sometimes a view that asking for more work is almost like servitude. We tend to want to confuse service with servitude.

“As a people, our mentality with this growing economy has to change now to keep that energy in the economy that we’re going to give more effort because we have to put in place a system that more effort is going to result in more pay. I noticed nobody clapped, because nobody believed it. People don’t believe it. But if the society is going to maintain what we have started and move to another level, then our system of reward must be one that is compatible with greater incentive and greater reward for greater work.

“There are those who prefer the old system where effort is not measured. So think about it: If you work in an office and the man will come in, sit down at the desk, go on him phone, go on TikTok; phone a ring, him don’t answer it; file on him desk, him don’t do nothing about it. And the lady beside him as the phone ring she take it up; the files come in, she sign them off; and she don’t even take calls, but at the end of the day they get the same pay.what kind of system is that?” he questioned.