It is expected that CBA’s with the remaining organisations engaged in negotiations with the GNT will be concluded soon.

Often, such negotiations are fraught and are not exactly seamless. This is not unexpected since the just demands of workers and the fiscal constraints and the challenges of small open economies often present difficulties that are not easy to navigate, and do not allow one much space through which to manoeuvre. These issues are particularly accentuated during periods in which governments of an ideological orientation that are not sufficiently sensitive to issues impacting the lives of working people are in office.

For the Saint Lucia Labour Party, born in the bowels of the working class movement, it has always been of critical importance to keep the working class and people at the centre of economic development, as they are the ultimate creators of wealth and value in the economy. To emphasise this, the presence of the Honourable Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, alongside his Minister for Labour, was not only a good photo opportunity, it was a genuine expression of adherence to the principles of the party and its ideological roots.

The recognition of the role of workers in general, and public service workers in particular, is important. The Labour Administration has distanced itself from the attitude of the last government when the then Prime Minister told public servants that they had no business telling him how to run the country, and that it was below their pay-grade to arrogate to themselves the right to do so.  It is definitely light years away from “shut up and listen to your masters” or “you can put a gun to my head…” pronouncements of former UWP administrations which tend to treat workers as an inconvenient cost generator. Such antagonistic and condescending dispositions, as have been typical of the United Workers Party (both yesterday and today), need to be relegated to the scrap heap of industrial relations history. And the Labour Government and Philip J. Pierre, as other Labour Governments before, continue to ensure that this is so.

The recognition of the role of labour in economic growth and the prosperity of the country is fully taken cognisance of by the SLP, who rightly do not see labour and its demands as a cost to be suppressed at every turn, but as a factor of economic prosperity.  The fact that due recognition of the economic and social demands of the working class, and meeting these within the constraints of our resources, is critically in the interest of private sector growth as well, cannot be overemphasised - especially where discretionary spending is often an issue.  

The agreements recently signed cover two triennia, 2022 - 2025 and 2025 - 2028. Wage increases for the first are 6% compounded, and for the second, 7% compounded. This amounts to 13% over the period which is more accurately calculated at 15%, given the compounding of the application of the wages.

These salaries/wages are coupled with a suite of benefits and improved conditions, which include compensation for temporary teachers during August, extended maternity leave post-delivery and improved allowances. These benefits are in addition to many others which are constantly being introduced by the Government of the Saint Lucia Labour Party to positively impact the livelihoods of the people at large. Among these are the expansion of the suite of zero-rated items so that the goods on supermarket shelves are more accessible to the consumer, reduction of VAT on building materials, the cap on the price of fuel at the pump, subsidies on cooking gas, payment of four CXC’s, payment of facilities fees for school children. And this is not an exhaustive list.

It must be said that the maturity of the majority of our trade unions in recognising the need to sit down with a demonstrably caring government and reach an agreement in the interest of their memberships is to be lauded. In fact the unions have generally, historically speaking, been of this disposition, so that those among them who have had a tendency to play games with those of the political elite who are clearly engaged in grandiose deceptions, inimical to the interests of the working class, are quickly identified and exposed for their disingenuous stances.

The trade unions and associations that have signed on the dotted line are the Saint Lucia Teachers’ Union, the saint Lucia Civil Service Association, the Vieux fort General & Dock Workers Union,the Saint Lucia Fire Service Association, the Medical and Dental Association, the Saint Lucia Nurses Association and the staff of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College represented by the  CSA and SLTU. 

By: The Diplomat