5 days ago
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The government is not contemplating re-imposing the cap on public sector wages as a percentage of GDP despite calls from fiscal experts to do so.
That’s the word of Minister of Finance, Fayval Williams.
She was answering questions at Parliament’s Standing Finance Committee meeting on Thursday.
Shaloy Smikle tells us more.
With wages and salaries already set to consume nearly forty percent of the country’s revenues by the next fiscal year, former Chairman of the Economic Programme Oversight Committee, EPOC, Keith Duncan, called for a cap to be reimposed.
He fears if left unchecked, the public sector wage bill will crowd out other critical government spending.
A cap of nine percent of Gross Domestic Product, GDP, was previously imposed as part of the country’s Economic Reform Programme.
It was abandoned years after, having met the target in only one quarter.
Government wages now stand at 13.3 percent of GDP.
Answering questions from her Opposition counterpart, Julian Robinson, Minister of Finance, Fayval Williams, says the government is not contemplating its re-imposition.
The government is heading into another round of wage negotiations with the public sector.
Again, the former EPOC boss called for restraint on the part of civil servants in terms of their salary increase expectations.
After further queries from Mr. Robinson, Minister Williams revealed they do not anticipate any further significant adjustments to the budget stemming from public sector wages in the upcoming fiscal year.
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