Ice melts on engines of aviation executives’ salary suit

Director General of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA), Nari Williams-Singh, and three senior executives have withdrawn their lawsuit against the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service (MoFPS) over a salary freeze. The decision comes amid reports that the ministry proposed an out-of-court settlement to resolve the dispute.

At a Supreme Court hearing on October 22, Williams-Singh and his deputies – Rohan Campbell (Regulatory Affairs), Howard Greaves (Air Navigation Services), and Nichole Morgan (Corporate Services) – formally withdrew their claim.

When contacted by The Gleaner on October 24, Williams-Singh declined to comment.

The executives had filed for judicial review on March 12, 2025, seeking to overturn the finance ministry’s decision to freeze their salaries for the 2023-2026 contract period. Judicial review allows the court to assess the legality of government decisions. The case centred on what they described as an arbitrary and unprecedented move by the ministry to impose a “zero per cent increase”, while other staff groups received significant raises.

The decision was made under former Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke, who served until October 2024 and was succeeded by Fayval Williams. The executives argued the freeze violated the JCAA’s compensation policy and led to salary inversion – where mid-level managers would earn more than the executives supervising them.

In his affidavit, Williams-Singh said the executive team, though not unionised, historically received the same general increases approved for staff represented by the Management Staff Association (MANSA). While the MANSA group secured a cumulative 30 per cent raise over three years (20 per cent, five per cent, and five per cent), executive management received none.

Court filings showed that while deputy director generals’ salaries were fixed at $23 million, directors in air navigation services would rise from $23.3 million to $25.3 million over the same period – creating a 12 pr cent gap. Similarly, the director of flight safety’s pay, set at $24.9 million in 2023, was projected to surpass the director general’s $24.4 million salary by 2025.

Williams-Singh said the JCAA’s practice was always to align executive increases with other staff, except once – in 2015-16 – when executives received a higher adjustment to maintain pay differentials.

The executives argued the ministry’s action was “unreasonable and/or irrational,” would leave them “severely prejudiced”, and could disrupt the agency’s functioning.

Court documents revealed over a year of correspondence and meetings attempting to resolve the issue internally. The dispute escalated after meetings on July 13 and 14, 2023.

A letter dated July 26, 2023, from Deputy Financial Secretary Wayne Jones formally notified the JCAA of the zero per cent increase. He said that following talks led by Minister Clarke, the ministry proposed to hold the executive management team’s salary at “current value” (a zero per cent increase) while granting “varied rates of change within and among other groups”.

On August 10, Campbell, then acting director general, wrote back warning that the freeze would cause salary inversion and was inconsistent with past practice. He received no reply.

Williams-Singh later attended a meeting at the ministry, where Jones said the matter would await Minister Clarke’s return from overseas. The ministry later confirmed its stance in a September 13, 2023, letter stating no increase would be approved for the 2023-2026 period.

Williams-Singh said negotiations between the JCAA and three unions concluded in September 2024, but the executives’ concerns remained unanswered.

On October 8, 2024, Williams-Singh wrote to the JCAA board – chaired by Major General (Ret’d) Stewart Saunders, with Deputy Chair Douglas Lindo and HR Committee Chair Dr Gillian McFarlane-Ossman – requesting intervention. Saunders subsequently emailed Carol Palmer, permanent secretary in the transport ministry, warning that the ministry’s action created “an untenable and undesirable situation within the managerial structure of the organisation which needs to be urgently addressed”.

Palmer replied the same day, stating the decision “was a deliberate position taken by the then minister himself,” as the executives had “priced themselves out of the scheme of what was appropriate”. She added that the matter was likely a Cabinet position.

Copied on the email, Williams-Singh, in a reply to the chairman, rejected the permanent secretary’s assertion as “inaccurate and flawed”, emphasising that executive compensation decisions required finance ministry approval.

Following further discussions, Williams-Singh said the JCAA board informed him in December 2024 that the decision was indeed made by Cabinet. He wrote to Palmer on December 24 requesting a copy of the Cabinet decision. Palmer replied that same day, directing him to the finance ministry, noting that compensation matters fell within its portfolio.

On December 19, 2024, the JCAA board’s deputy chairman asked the executive team to model salary comparisons showing how their pay would differ if MANSA’s increases were applied. Williams-Singh submitted the analysis on January 24, 2025, but received no response.

With no resolution forthcoming, the executives sought legal advice and filed their judicial review application in March, arguing that they had “exhausted all attempts at an amicable resolution”.

The court filing also underscored that the salary freeze undermined morale and created inequities contrary to established compensation principles within the public sector. They said the decision failed to consider their leadership responsibilities and technical qualifications essential to maintaining aviation safety oversight.

However, at the October 22 hearing, the claim was withdrawn. Legal sources indicated that discussions between the JCAA leadership, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Transport had progressed toward an out-of-court settlement, although details were not disclosed.

Up to press time there was no response to a request for comment from the finance ministry.

The JCAA officials were represented by King’s Counsel Kevin Powell of Hylton Powell.

editorial@gleanerjm.com