KINGSTON, Jamaica —The People’s National Party (PNP) is promising a better wage offer to public sector workers than the one being offered by the present Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) administration, should it form the government on September 3.

“When we come into office, it (the public sector wage offer) will be better than zero per cent [in year one] because there is money in the budget to provide better for our public servants,” Opposition Spokesman on Finance, Julian Robinson insisted on Tuesday night.

The current wage negotiation matter was raised at the second of three election debates, which featured topics mostly centred on the economy.

The Government has proposed a four-year wage agreement for public sector workers, offering a zero per cent increase in the first year, followed by consecutive annual increases of 2.5 per cent over the remaining three years.

But several public sector groups have reportedly rejected the offer, arguing that zero per cent is not an offer.

Robinson reiterated his point that there was room in the current budget for a better offer to civil servants, pointing to the fiscal policy paper as evidence.

“The fiscal policy paper has, in its first year, nine per cent. In the second year six per cent, in the third year six per cent. They (the JLP) have offered zero [per cent]; that is not an offer!” Robinson declared.

“We (the PNP) will do better, but by lifting the income tax threshold to $3.5 million, we are easing the pressure. We easing the pressure on our nurses, we easing the pressure on our policemen, we easing the pressure so that more money will be in their pockets,” he added.

Continuing to lambast the current JLP Government, Robinson claimed that the governing party has a “history of dealing with civil servants with disrespect”.

“We are going to treat public sector workers with respect and dignity. I won’t talk to the JTA (Jamaica Teacher’s Association) president like the minister of education and say, ‘Him performing at his conference’. That is disrespect! Disrespect is when you need to get a meeting you have to get restive and threaten strike action,” he said.

He pointed to, among other things, several anomalies that arose from the public sector compensation review that remain unresolved, as a further example of the treatment faced by civil servants under the JLP.

For her part, Finance and the Public Service Minister Fayval Williams was more cautious about the JLP’s approach to wage negotiations.

She reminded that it was under the JLP that the public sector was given “the largest wage increase in the history of Jamaica”.

“What did the public sector know under the PNP? Wage freeze after wage freeze. We (the JLP) are committed to continue negotiating with our [public sector] unions. Negotiation is a process, we still remain at the table,” Williams informed.

She added: “Our prime minister has indicated that we will get to a point [in the negotiation] that is satisfactory for the public sector workers and for Jamaica as a whole.”