A proposal for compensation for Teachers and other Public Servants was discussed here last Friday at a meeting involving a Government delegation and Trade Union officials.
The Teachers Union and the Public Service Union had written to the Government proposing that Teachers and Public Service Workers be paid a one-time payment of one months’ salary by the end of the first quarter. This was proposed as compensation for members for the period 2012 to 2014, when there were no increases in salaries.
According to a communique issued following the discussions, the Government delegation was headed by Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, while the Teachers, Public Servants, Police and Minor Salaried Workers were represented by the leadership of their respective Trade Unions, (SVGTU, PSU, CTAWU, NWM, and the Police Welfare Association).
The communique said the Prime Minister gave a summary of the proposal estimates at 22.5-million and presented a summary of the fiscal out turn for the first quarter of 2015.
It said the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and it was concluded, based on the discussions, that the Government is unable to commit to the proposal at this time, without reducing expenditure on other areas such as social programmes and education.
It was also agreed that the Government would review the proposal at the end of the second quarter, to determine the feasibility of honoring the proposal in part or whole.
