Tonight, the public service and teachers unions are incensed and threatening industrial action. And it's because of an internal government memo which was leaked last night. It's dated 28th March and is from the Cabinet Secretary to the Financial Secretary announces salary adjustments.
None fell swoop, the annual salary for Cab Sec goes up 18.5% from $81,000 annually to $98,000 annually - and that's effective March 13th - the day after election. And for CEO's it goes up 15% from $76,300 annually to $88,000 annually - effective March 18th.
This is in addition to the transport, phone and entertainment allowances they get annually which amount to $3,100 dollars.
All told it's quite a hefty package which has gotten nicely bumped up at the very start of the PUP's second term.
Today, the PSU issued a release calling it "shameless self enrichment". The president told the media in a Zoom meeting that they were caught totally off guard:
Dean Flowers, President - PSU
"Totally off guard, Jules. This came at us like a thief in the night. At no point in time did we envision this shameless act once again by the cabinet secretary, on behalf of the CEO caucus and himself. What is even more damning, It doesn't even says that cabinet approved it. It just says we're adjusting our salary pretty much. And, I'm adjusting my salary also. He kindly adjusted the CEO's salary. There was no indication that this matter was tabled before cabinet, that it came as a result of approval by the Prime Minister."
"It's a disrespect to the entire collective bargaining process. It's a disrespect to the government negotiating team, in my view, because in essence, they're saying we don't care what you're doing on the larger scale, we're looking after ourselves. And, and this is what we want and this is what we get."
"In essence, only one small group continues to win. But instead of you look at compensating those who are grossly underpaid, who are making basically poverty wages, you continue to compensate those at the top of the pyramid who don't pretty much pay for anything. They get free telephone for their and their family, because the amount of money they could get one package for the whole family with the with the package that we give them for telephone, with the amount of allowance that we give them for vehicles, If we're not giving them a government vehicle with free fuel."
"And it's really shameful. It's really and but again when you have to deal with political cronies you don't expect them to have any shame."
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