JCSA says it was given no special treatment in wage negotiations

The Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA) is dismissing assertions that the entities it represents have been given any favourable treatment by the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service in the compensation review process.

The JCSA's comments come a day after the head of the National Workers' Union, Granville Valentine, stated that some public sector groups were able to settle because of "lucrative offers" made to them.

He said workers at the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) who took industrial action on Monday were demanding similar offers.

However, in a media release on Tuesday, JCSA president, O'Neil Grant, said all solutions the association has been able to get for the workers have been through negotiation, lobbying, advocacy, and dialogue, even if there has been industrial unrest to get the needed attention.

"The process has been slow and tedious as it is with all the trade unions and staff associations involved in this exercise," Grant said.

He added: "To give the impression that we were given special treatment is at best unfortunate given the fact that both the National Workers Union and the JCSA have joint representation of Immigration Officers in Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency with the JCSA representing the rest of the staff."

He argued that the issues facing the staff at PICA are not unique and a broad collective approach must be used to treat with them while having dialogue with the management of PICA and the ministry.

Among the outstanding matters are issues regarding outstanding alignments, contract workers, cessation of increments, overtime claims and reinstatement of passenger mileage.

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