A MEMORANDUM of Agreement (MoA) to be discussed between the Caribbean Cement Company Ltd. and the National Workers Union (NWU) is expected to dictate future salary negotiations for workers at the company.
A release from Danny Roberts, NWU vice-president, said its representatives and that of the Union of Clerical, Administrative and Supervisory Employees (UCASE), the Caribbean Cement Company Staff Association and the management of the company are to begin discussions this week.
RESTRAINT ON WAGES
His announcement comes on the heels of the Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) signed between the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) and the Government last week allowing for a restraint on wages for public sector workers. The two-year arrangement puts a three per cent cap on the total public sector wage bill, saving Government an estimated $5 billion.
But Mr. Roberts said the MoA between the unions and Carib Cement, a private sector company, would not be based on wage restraint, but a system that allows for wages to be tied to performance.
According to him, the proposal was initiated to allow for the cement company to achieve global competitiveness, maintain market access and preserve jobs, while at the same time advancing the interest of workers.
In forging the MoA, Mr. Roberts said it would allow for "the employment of a better work method that could result in greater levels of efficiency." He said the proposed agreement will include provisions for the development of multi-skills among the workforce through improved training methods and stipulations for compensation to workers from increased productivity from the new working agreement.
GREATER EFFICIENCY
Mr. Roberts noted that this agreement with the cement company, is the first of several such agreements to be pursued "in several other sectors as a way of advancing the interest of the workers through greater efficiency and productivity."
Workers at the company have endorsed the implementation of the agreement, as well as the management of the Carib Cement, Mr. Roberts said. This has been confirmed by Dalmin Small, personnel manager at Carib Cement.
"We have referred to it as a partnership grouping because at the end of the process I suppose we will have a document that we will sign...," he said.
