CATEGORY:SITUATION UPDATE ------------------------------ INSIDE GRENADA MONDAY July 16,2007 The Government’s Negotiating Team wishes to inform the general public and public officers, in particular, that the last Collective Agreement for salary increases and fringe benefits for Public Officers expired on 1st January, 2006. As early as September 2005, the Government’s Negotiating Team (GNT) was mandated by Government to begin negotiations with the Public Sector Unions, comprising the Public Workers’ Union, the Grenada Union of Teachers and the Technical and Allied Workers’ Union for a new Collective Agreement for the workers in their bargaining unit for the period 1st January 2006 to 31st December, 2008. By letter dated 22nd September, 2005, the Unions were informed of Government’s directive in the matter and they were invited to attend a preliminary meeting to discuss and agree on the guiding principles for the conduct of the negotiations as well as a time table for concluding same. This meeting was held on 11th October, 2005 and all the Unions were in attendance. The Government’s Negotiating Team re-stated Government’s desire to begin negotiations towards having in place a new Collective Agreement, within its very limited resources. The team outlined the approach which it will be adopting in the conduct of the negotiations and went on to explain that this would allow for expenditure to be planned and budgeted for in the Estimates, thereby reducing the burden on Government to find monies to make retroactive payment. The delegation from the Unions raised several issues which were of major concern to their membership such as the management of the economy, the high prices, housing and the implementation of the Levy, which the GNT undertook to take back to its principals. At the request of GNT, a follow-up meeting was held on 27th February, 2006, with the Unions to identify the possible issues that would impact on the negotiations and to plan the way forward. Among the issues raised by the Unions were the protracted nature of negotiations, the flawed premise upon which wage increases were granted based on the current Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Government’s failure to implement a number of Articles in past agreements. They also requested detailed information on expenditure dating back to 2002 on four (4) budget line items. The Government’s side offered to do a presentation on the Consumer Price Index. The Unions however, counter-proposed that a technical team comprising members from both sides be appointed to look at a basket of goods with a view to coming up with a more realistic Consumer Price Index. The Ministry of Finance undertook to secure the services of an expert from the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank to deliver a presentation to the unions on the compilation and relevance of the CPI in determining wages and salary increases. This presentation was done jointly with an official from our Central Statistical Unit on 6th September, 2006. Regarding the non-implementation of articles from past agreements, the GNT initiated meetings with the relevant bodies with a view to resolving this matter. The detailed information on expenditure which the Unions had requested was sent to the Unions under cover of letter dated 10th July, 2006. In the meantime, by way of letter dated 11th April, 2006, the GNT forwarded the following proposal to the Unions for their consideration:- 1. the contract be for a period of four (4) years instead of the customary three (3) years; 2. Salaries to be increased as follows:- 2006 - 1% (one off) 2007 - 2% (one off) 2008 - 2.5% (cumulative) 2009 - 2.5% (cumulative) 3. It will entertain proposals for fringe benefits in the normal manner. By letter dated 23rd May, 2006, the Public Workers Union indicated that it was prepared to engage in meaningful discussions with the GNT on the matter. Discussions with the Public Workers’ Union started on 12th July, 2006. At the commencement of the meeting, the GNT was informed that the three (3) Unions (PWU, GUT and TAWU) had decided to conduct negotiations for salary increases jointly but that they would be negotiating for fringe benefits separately. This position was earlier stated by the President General of the Grenada Union of Teachers and he had promised to send an official communication to that effect. The GNT indicated that the same offer had been made to the three (3) Unions but that it had received a letter of rejection from the Grenada Union of Teachers. In that light, Government wished to withdraw its offer and instead to table the following proposal: 2006 - 0.5% 2007 - 1.0% 2008 - 2.0% 2009 - 2.5% The response from the Union was that the percentage still remained at 6.0% and that it thought that an offer would have been presented leaving 2008 and 2009 as is, and that efforts would be made to see how the gap could be bridged for 2006 and 2007. The next meeting was convened with the three (3) Unions on 1st September, 2006. At the commencement, the GNT sought to confirm whether the approach outlined by the Unions still stood. The GUT indicated that it was reconsidering its position on joint negotiations for salary increases and that it wished to have negotiations for fringe benefits concluded before beginning negotiations for salary increases. The GNT sought clarity on the matter. The Unions went into caucus and upon resumption of the meeting, outlined the following course of action:- (a) GUT will submit its proposal for fringe benefits within two (2) weeks. It would also indicate its position on salary negotiations by the middle of the next week. Negotiations for fringe benefits will be done separately but they must be negotiated first. (b) As of 1st September, 2006, PWU and TAWU had agreed to conduct negotiations for salary increases jointly. However, TAWU wanted an outcome on the matters before the Department of Labour before presenting its proposals for fringe benefits for the new period. The GNT protested to no avail, that the Unions should not dictate what it wanted to see happen; that fringe benefits and salary increases both had financial implications and should be negotiated together. The proposal for fringe benefits from the PWU was tabled on 1st September, 2006. The draft counter-proposal from GNT was sent to the Union under cover of letter dated 3rd January, 2007. The first meeting was held on 26th January, 2007. Subsequent meetings were held on 2nd February, 2007, 14th February, 2007, 2nd March, 2007, 9th March, 2007, 30th March, 2007. Negotiations were in a near state of completion on 12th April, 2007. At the meeting which was held on 27th April, 2007, Government also tabled proposals of its own for fringe benefits for Public Officers. The final package which was approved by Cabinet contained thirty-five (35) Articles, some of which are listed hereunder:- (a) Improved provisions for study leave. (b) Career Enhancement leave which provides for Public Officers with at least ten (10) years service and a good performance record to be granted leave for up to one academic year for the purpose of gaining job-related experience in another field of work (twenty-five officers in any one year based on the exigencies of the Service). (c) One-off payment for additional qualifications. This applies to public officers who gain additional qualifications and who remain in their substantive posts to receive a one-off payment. (d) Workers of the hospital, community nurses and ancillary services to be given 50% reduction on hospital fees. (e) Probationary service has been reduced to one year (f) Adjustment in salary for continuous temporary service. This applies where an officer is serving on a temporary basis in a post on the Permanent Establishment for which he/she is qualified to fill but which post is not vacant. Such officer, shall after one year and on receipt of a performance rating which merits increment, qualify for an adjustment in his/her salary equivalent to the next incremental point. Free Medical Examination: (g) Government has agreed to re-institute the Employees Health Unit/department as part of the second phase of the construction of the General Hospital to provide the following without charge:- Medical examination of all health care workers, as needed and public officers and teachers who require emergency treatment. An annual neuro-muscular examination of all Government employees who use computers in excess of four (4) hours a day. An annual medical examination for all front line health care providers and retired public officers. A basic annual package of free medical services to officers working in hazardous conditions. In the mean time, arrangements for the provision of these services are to be made through the Ministry of Health. (g) Increase in the Disruptive and Hardship Allowances. (h) A new vacation leave regime. (i) Call Out Allowance to medical and select nursing personnel, auxiliary and maintenance staff, Hospital Services. (j) Increase in Subsistence Allowance to Orderlies, Nurses, Nursing Attendants, Maids, Cooks, Groundsmen from $105.00 to $210.00 per month. (k) Increase in Commuting Allowance to District Nurses and Community Health Aides from $50.00 and $80.00 respectively to $200.00 per month. It can be seen that though not quantifiable at this stage, the package when implemented, will translate into vast sums of money to be expended by Government. At the invitation of GNT, the Union, on 12th April, 2007, tabled a proposal for salary increases for its members of 12,10 and 7% respectively. The parties met on 27th April, 2007. On the matter of salary negotiations, GNT expressed its desire to conclude on the discussions as quickly as possible and invited the Union to elaborate on its proposal. The Union tabled the following proposal:- Officers earning salary up to $1500 per month - an increase of 12% annually Officers earning salary of 1501- $2500 per month - an increase of 10% annually Officers earning salary of $2501 per month and - an increase of 7% annually above It advanced the position that the officers in lower echelon must be granted a higher percentage increase, as many of them were complaining of hard times. It disputed the current official inflation figure and said that it was more in the region of 8%. It further stated that any conclusion arrived at must be agreed to by the workers. GNT reminded the Union of its response to the last offer from Government which was tabled on 12th July, 2006, and said that based on that premise, Government would like to revise its offer to 2.5%, 2% and 2% respectively for 2006 – 2008. The Union indicated that a lot had changed since that time. It rejected the offer and said that the average increase at the national level was 4.5%. GNT then increased its offer to 3% for 2006 and 2.25% for 2007 and 2008 respectively, which was roundly rejected by the Union. At that point, the GNT sought an adjournment to review its proposal. On resumption, GNT placed on the table the following proposal for salary increases:- Officers earning salary of $ 7,368 - $18,060 p.a - 5% annually Officers earning salary of $18,216 - $39,348 p.a. - 3.5% annually Officers earning salary of $40,812 - $76,236 p.a. - 2.5% annually The Union went into caucus and on resumption of discussions it said that it would accept the bands proposed with two amendments, i.e. the first band should extend to $22,116 per annum and the second band should begin at $23,292 per annum, which was accepted by GNT. The GNT reminded the Union that it had moved progressively on its offer but that there had been no similar movement on the Union’s part. The PWU then indicated a change in its position to 11%, 9% and 6.5% for the respective categories. When pressed for further concessions, the Union moved to 6%, 5% and 5% for the respective categories and said that that was its final position. GNT went into caucus and upon resumption, it enquired about the rationale for requesting the same percentage increase for the second and third categories when the bands were different. The Union indicated that it had noted that point but did not offer any explanation or volunteered any additional information. The GNT then placed on the table the following offer:- First Category - 6%, 5%, 5% for 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively Second Category - 4%, 3.5%, 3% “ “ “ “ Third Category - 3%, 3, 2.5% “ “ “ “ It went on to state that Government was very much aware of the effects which the recent increases were having on workers and although the proposed increases were well beyond what it could afford, it felt compelled to do so in order to alleviate the burden on workers. The Union, after due consideration, indicated its acceptance of the offer as it related to the first category subject to the agreement by the workers. It however, rejected the proposal with regard to the second and third categories and proposed increases of 4% for each year for the second category and 3% for each year for the third category. GNT after another caucus proposed a .5% increase for workers in the second category to bring the figure to 3.5% for 2008. It did not propose any changes to what was on offer for officers in the third category. The Union remained firm in its resolve that it was not prepared to accept anything less than 4% for each year for officers in Category two and 3% for officers in Category three. GNT at this point, sought an adjournment of the meeting to Wednesday, May 2, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. which was agreed to by the Union. The meeting reconvened on 2nd May, 2007, as planned. On the matter of salary negotiations, the Union was asked to consider extending the contract to four (4) years which it promised to discuss with the workers. GNT also appealed to the Union to reconsider its position and to accept what was on offer. It said that Government was hard pressed to meet the level of increases to which it had already committed. The Union held firm to its position and observed that there was only a .5% difference between the parties. GNT indicated that the position of its principals was that they would not like to cause disruption to the country for a .5% increase. Although it would come at great sacrifice and in the interest of a settlement, it was prepared to concede to the Union’s demands and to agree to increases of 4% and 3% annually for the officers in the second and third category respectively. It is to be noted that the increases will result in additional expenditure of twenty-one (21) million dollars over the next three years. Hereunder, is the full decision of the meeting as it pertained to salary increases:- (a) the proposal to extend the contract to four (4) years and to apply the same percent increases as were negotiated for 2008 to be discussed with the workers. (b) Salary to be increased as follows:- 2006 2007 2008 2009 Category one 6% 5% 5% 5% Category two 4% 4% 4% 4% Category three 3% 3% 3% 3% (c) Salaries to be adjusted from July, 2007 (d) Backpay for 2006 to be paid on 7th December, 2007 (e) Backpay for 2007 to be paid on 30th June, 2008 (f) The above is subject to, in the case of the Union, to agreement by the workers and consultation with Pensioners and the Grenada Technical and Allied Workers’ Union and the approval of Cabinet in the case of the GNT. Cabinet has since communicated to GNT its approval of the decision in its entirety. By letter dated 10th July, 2007, the Government’s Negotiating Team was notified by the Unions, among other things, that its membership had rejected the offer of salary increases over the four year period 2006 – 2009, and that it was requesting a continuation of negotiations for the period 2006 – 2008. The Government’s Negotiating Team is both surprised and dismayed by the Union’s response since what was on the table was not an offer from Government but a negotiated position which had been arrived at after lengthy deliberations and discussions by and between the parties (and which was subject to the agreement by the workers and consultation with the Pensioners and the Grenada Technical and Allied Workers’ Union and the approval of Cabinet). Government is also engaged in negotiations for fringe benefits and salary/wage increases with other Unions and Associations which is expected to increase the salary/wage bill even more significantly. Prepared by the GNT: July 12, 2007