KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) has pushed back against statements made by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Fayval Williams, that public sector workers have already received a new 7.5 per cent increase for the 2025/2026 fiscal year.
Speaking on CVM TV News on Tuesday, Williams said, “For this fiscal year 2025/2026, we would have given majority of the public sector workers seven and a half per cent (7.5%) increase already, and it’s not back money it’s for fiscal 25/26.”
However, in a release issued on Tuesday, the JCTU described the minister’s assertion as “not accurate” and “misleading,” stressing that the increase being referenced is not a fresh benefit but a deferred entitlement stemming from the 2022–2025 Public Sector Compensation Restructuring agreement.
The union explained that the adjustment movement of eligible workers by up to three increments on their salary scales was agreed to on September 12, 2024, under then Finance Minister Nigel Clarke. Because the increments were implemented without retroactive effect, they are now being reflected as a 7.5 per cent adjustment.
The JCTU further noted that its wage claim for the new 2025–2028 compensation cycle was submitted in November 2024, two months after the increment movement had already been finalised, meaning the current adjustment cannot be considered a response to its ongoing claim.
The confederation stressed that the obligation had already been codified under the previous framework and “was never intended to be a substitute for new wage negotiations.”
Warning against further public mischaracterisations, the JCTU said such statements risk undermining good-faith industrial relations and eroding trust among workers who “expect transparency and fairness.”
The union is calling on the Ministry of Finance to stop presenting deferred obligations as new benefits and to maintain open, honest dialogue with the unions moving forward.
