Nearly $80 million is to be paid to public servants within the next two days as the government disburses a promised tax-free back pay package to public sector workers.
A statement issued by the government on Tuesday evening confirmed that “over the next 48 hours, nearly $80 million will be released into the local economy”.
It explained that in addition to the regular monthly salary payments of $44.5 million, an additional $34.5 million would be given in back pay.
The payments are being made in accordance with the terms of the recently concluded trade negotiations between the Government Negotiating Team (GNT) and the Trade Union Federation (TUF), which will see public sector workers receiving a six per cent wage increase for the 2022-2025 period, followed by another seven per cent hike for the 2025-2028 period.
Over 11 000 public sector employees in grades to 1 to 18, represented by six bargaining agents under the TUF, will benefit from the agreement.
The GNT and TUF concluded negotiations last December, for a 13 per cent salary increase over two consecutive trienniums.
The bargaining agents that agreed to the increase under the TUF at that time were the Saint Lucia Civil Service Association, the Saint Lucia Fire Service Association, the Saint Lucia Medical and Dental Association, the Saint Lucia Nurses Association, the Saint Lucia Teachers Union, and the Vieux Fort Dock and General Workers Union. The Bordelais Correctional Officers Association earlier this month also accepted the wage proposal.
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Service from government workers is still rubbish though. There is a cost to this lack of productivity and keeping all this dead weight on staff. Take a look at what is going on the US. 1,000,000,000,000 in interest payments every 3 months. Now they are desperately looking for ways to avoid financial collapse. So much so they elected the madman. We’re not far from this. This mad spending on unproductive workers will eventually lead to knocking on IMF’s door.
I come here for work purposes every 4 months for 2 weeks. It’s strange how I must submit the same documents every single time, and wait days, yet the employees at the office are always sitting in the back having conversations about things on social media.