Public sector workers are to receive a 7.5 per cent increase in basic salary.

Finance Minister Fayval Williams says this is due to the movement of up to three increments in the substantive salary scales for public sector workers.

Finance Minister Fayval Williams  contrasts this agreement with the norm before the comprehensive salary reform of 2022, in which only one  increment would be made in a year, and such a  move was  tied to receiving 75% or more on the Performance Management and Appraisal System (PMAS).

Ms. Williams notes that the payment of up to three increments in fiscal year 2025/26 was arrived at through engagement with the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU).

She explains that some ministries, departments and agencies have already made the payments to their public sector workers, and other entities are working toward effecting the payments in keeping with the timeline to pay by the end of this month.

Ms. Williams observes that this adjustment is part of ongoing efforts to enhance the remuneration framework in a fair and fiscally sustainable way. 

She adds that, “this increase has been agreed even as the ministry continues to explore the method by which performance should be assessed”.

The Finance Minister emphasises that the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service will continue  to engage with the various unions and associations across the public service to refine the  compensation structure in a way that is fair, transparent and aligned with the need to ensure  fiscal sustainability.