INVALID EXCUSE
JMEA, JCTU dismiss gov’t rationale for blocking access to report on public sector salary reform
Published:Thursday | June 15, 2023 | 1:54 AMJovan Johnson/Senior Staff Reporter
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GOVERNMENT HAS blocked access to the full consultancy report that informed controversial new public sector salaries recently implemented, saying that the document is in ‘draft’ because reforms are incomplete. But the Jamaica Manufacturers and...
GOVERNMENT HAS blocked access to the full consultancy report that informed controversial new public sector salaries recently implemented, saying that the document is in ‘draft’ because reforms are incomplete.
But the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA) and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) have dismissed those reasons, pointing to public concerns about the wages, which include more than 200 per cent increases approved for most politicians.
“They should come with a better excuse,” said Helene Davis Whyte, president of the JCTU.
On June 5, The Gleaner submitted an access to information (ATI) request to the Nigel Clarke-led Finance Ministry for copies of all final reports produced by (EY, formerly Ernst and Young), including their full final report on the compensation review and shared corporate services reform. Copies of the terms of reference provided to the consultancy firm were also requested.
The ministry responded yesterday, indicating that it would not be releasing the reports.
“The documents requested are exempt from disclosure pursuant to Section 19 of the ATI Act as these projects are not yet finished, and as such, all reports are still being treated as draft documents,” the ministry said in a letter dated June 13.
It noted that the exemption under Section 15 related to documents revealing Government’s deliberative process.
Section 15 says an official document is exempt from disclosure if it contains “opinions, advice or recommendations” or “a record of consultations or deliberations arising in the course of, proceedings of the Cabinet or of a committee thereof”.
The law allows for an appeal, which this newspaper will pursue.
Billion-dollar contracts
In December 2019, Clarke signed two contracts worth almost $1 billion with international consulting firm EY Jamaica to cover the compensation review and shared services for the public sector, both to improve efficiencies and reward performance in government.
EY was expected to develop a proposal for a pay-for-performance and reward framework; develop a compensation philosophy and policy; and cost and indicate the financial impact of the new compensation structure. The firm was also to develop a single job-evaluation tool for the public sector, government news agency JIS reported.
The compensation review was set for 18 months, and the work on consolidating services such as human resources was scheduled for 24 months, but the COVID pandemic has affected the deadlines.
Some 95 per cent of public sector workers accepted at least a 20 per cent salary increase over three years up to March 2025, the finance minister told the House of Representatives in March. The new salaries are on a 16-band system, replacing the 325 that existed before.
Both the JMEA president, John Mahfood, and the JCTU head argue that the ministry should reconsider its position, noting, among other things, that the aspects on compensation have been largely completed.
“To say that the matter is in draft form and is exempt seems a strange statement to justify withholding the information. That information should be a public document because it goes to the whole heart of the salary adjustment,” Mahfood said yesterday. Since the ministry was taking a restrictive approach to the information, Mahfood argued, the Government should release what has already been implemented. He said the ongoing shared-services project should not be “lumped” into the decision.
“I’m sure that it can be simply dissected and taken out and provide the really important information, which is the justification for these salaries and what the comparisons were with the private sector and other things,” he said.
He added: “This is a very key concern of everybody, the public sector workers and the general public, in terms of transparency and the question of, especially the higher levels of remuneration. And other than saying that it is based on a study… we’re left to believe that that is the basis. If that’s the basis, it should be very clear that they can release that information.”
The JCTU supports Mahfood’s view, pointing out that documents had to have been shared with the group for the wage negotiations.
“I would not agree that all of these documents are draft. There are aspects of the reform that may not yet be completed but to say that those that have gone already are drafts, I don’t know they would seem to be drafts,” said Davis Whyte, whose organisation includes at least 10 unions representing over 30,000 workers.
Bits of the reviews have been in the public domain, including publications by the ministry’s transformation unit.
Davis Whyte said while information from marketing surveys involving private-sector companies may be problematic to share because of confidentiality reasons, the ministry’s explanation to this newspaper is “not a valid answer”.