DPSU, gov’t wrap up salary negotiations

The Dominica Public Service Union (DPSU) has wrapped up salary negotiations with the government for the 2012-2015 triennium.

The union met with government’s negotiating team on Friday where it formally accepted a salary increase offer of five percent for the time period.

However, there was one condition that the government “would be making a contribution to the medical insurance premium of our member,” Letang told state-own DBS Radio after the meeting.

He stated that all other non-salary matters that the DPSU are interested in will be taken up in the next round of negotiations which will begin from July 1st for the 2015-2018 period.

He noted that Friday’s meeting brought the matter to closure.

“We felt that it didn’t make much sense to prolong this matter any further and we would accept the 3,1,1, and as a result of that we inquired as to how soon Public Officers will be paid their back pay and it was agreed that between March and April the back pay will be paid,” he noted.

He said it is now a matter of signing “the collective agreements.”

Meantime, President of the Dominica Association of Teachers (DAT) Celia Nicholas said they are to meet with government’s team for another round of negotiations regarding the salary increase for the triennium 2012-2015

DAT had initially rejected the five percent increase offered to all public officers, insisting that it prefer a proposal made (by DAT) on November 24, 2014.

That proposal includes an increase of two percent for the 2012-2015 triennium commencing July 2012, a review of job descriptions and re-evaluation of teaching positions and the implementation of the policy decision to upgrade all positions not already upgraded by one level in the event the review and re-evaluation process does not yield the desired results. The DAT also requested the implementation of the new pace structure with effect from January 1, 2015 and that travelling officer status be assigned to the position of principal, primary and secondary schools, with effect from January 2015.

She said DAT has written to the government informing it that the association has unanimously agreed to and is sticking to the November 24 proposal.

“Our membership gives us a mandate, if our membership changes the mandate, no problem … but we are saying as executive, as the leader, this is the mandate that we have received from our membership,” she said during a press conference earlier this week. “So for the teaching service, as a profession, this is the best thing for our teachers, but if they want to change the mandate, so be it. But this is the mandate that we received from our membership.”