Stakeholders urged to protect Jamaica's macroeconomic stability as wage talks loom

Chairman of the Fiscal Advisory Committee Keith Duncan has warned that all sectors of the Jamaican society must work to protect the current macroeconomic stability.

The warning comes as the unions representing thousands of public sector workers, including the Jamaica Civil Service Association and the Jamaica Teachers' Association, get ready to commence negotiations with the Government on new wage packages.

Duncan noted that for the upcoming financial year, the Government is projected to spend $463 billion in wages and salaries, about 40 per cent of the projected total tax revenues of $1.16 trillion.

To underscore his warning, the Financial Advisory Committee chairman recounted that following the political turmoil of the 1970s it took Jamaica 14 years to get back to 1975 levels of gross domestic product (GDP) and eleven years to return to the GDP levels of 2008 after the global recession hit.

He noted, however, that the rebound following the COVID-19 pandemic occurred in less than three years “because we had macroeconomic stability”.

“So we have to protect this macroeconomic stability. We cannot afford for things to go off the rails,” said Duncan, who was speaking on Saturday at the 50th annual congress of the Union of Clerical Administrative and Supervisory Employees (UCASE) at the Jamaica Conference Centre, in downtown Kingston.

“We all have a part to play in that. Unions, private sector, government, everybody have a role to play,” he said.

Sensing that his warning struck a nerve with his audience, Duncan quickly explained that it was important for everyone to be “aware of where we are as a country and what our fiscal profile looks like so when we make decisions we are taking informed decisions”.

“We know that we are going into a new wage negotiation cycle so me just a gi oonu the information enuh. Oonu can work wid it and see how can we be responsible,” he said, acknowledging that public sector workers have made significant sacrifices in the past to help achieve economic stability.

Duncan cautioned, too, that public sector employees must be treated “fairly” because they are needed to deliver service to the population.

- Livern Barrett

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