Fourteen trade unions have signed agreements with the finance ministry for the new, restructured public sector compensation system.

The agreements were signed between Tuesday and Thursdays.

The finance ministry says it reached agreement with a number of major public sector trade unions, including a majority of the unions in the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions.

The unions include : the Nurses Association of Jamaica, Jamaica Civil Service Association, the Jamaica Workers Union, the Union of Schools Agricultural and Allied Workers Union, the Union of Public and Private Employees, the Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers, the Jamaica Midwives Association, the Council of Paramedics and the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union.

These unions represent approximately 60,000 employees.

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr Nigel Clarke, says this is a momentous development, given the four years of work that have gone into designing the new compensation system and the extensive period of consultation with unions.

He states that the journey began in 2018 and was undertaken in partnership with unions which agreed to a four-year wage deal that allowed the work to commence.

Dr Clarke adds “this is a watershed moment, as the government seeks to transform the public sector, into a modern public service.”

He reiterates that the current compensation system does not serve the needs of the public sector nor the country as a whole.

He is urging the unions still reviewing the government’s proposal to complete that review in short order.

Dr Clarke notes that it is the government’s commitment to implement a public sector compensation that is fair, transparent and sustainable, while emphasizing that every public sector worker will be better off financially, when the new system is implemented.

The new compensation system will be implemented over three years with an effective date of April 1, 2022 and will cost approximately $120 billion over the period.