By Warren Bertram
O'Neil Grant, President of the Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA), has said some public sector workers are becoming restive over the slow pace of implementation of the government's new compensation system.
Mr. Grant said they have been waiting since December to receive their retroactive salaries in addition to promised benefits.
He explained that the workers, especially those from executive agencies and other statutory bodies, have been patient about the delay but their patience is running out.
"They would have seen their colleagues getting their retroactive salaries in September. They were promised that by January, we would have been well on the way to dealing with their alignment so that by the latest February they would have been getting their salaries. And now we are in February and we don't seem to be close to settling those alignment issues," Mr. Grant pointed out.
He said the issue is causing anxiety and restiveness among the workers.
Mr. Grant added that there has been increased lobbying by the workers for their matters to be brought to the Finance Minister by way of their respective employers, but argued that this has also been slow.
He said the public sector workers are calling for their unions to return to negotiations with the Finance Minister to quickly resolve outstanding issues.
Citing the unease at Tax Administration Jamaica and the Jamaica Information Service, the JCSA president warned that there could be "contagion", meaning more workers might become restive if the issues are not resolved speedily.
Mr. Grant was speaking Thursday on Radio Jamaica's Beyond The Headlines.
