President of the Public Service Union (PSU), Dean Flowers, has clarified the union’s position on public sector salary concerns, stating they are not seeking to dictate the salaries of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) but are demanding a fair and equitable pay structure across the service.
“We’re not questioning whether a CEO should earn sixty thousand dollars a year, seventy-six thousand a year, or eighty-eight thousand dollars a year. We’re not questioning that,” Flowers said. “We’re saying that if we’re all going to contribute to the growth and development of the public service, then the structure has to be one that equitably distributes the benefits.”
His comments follow the unanimous rejection last week by the Joint Unions Negotiating Team (JUNT) of the government’s proposed 3% salary increase for public sector workers, a figure the unions have deemed insufficient.
Tensions have mounted in recent weeks, particularly after news of a more than 15% pay hike for Cabinet CEOs shortly after the general elections.
Flowers criticised the performance of some CEOs, arguing that high salaries are not translating into improved public service delivery. “You cannot say that because ‘I’m the CEO, I’m entitled to a hundred thousand,’ because the reality is you bring limited experience in the public service,” he said.
“When you come here, you come in oblivious to really and truly how the public service runs, and that’s the reason why the con, the public service, continues to get worse because of your leadership, because of your inability to identify the deficiencies in your ministry, in your department,” Flowers added.
The unions have warned of potential industrial action if their demands continue to be ignored.