The Board of Directors and Management of the Grenada Investment Development Corporation (GIDC) have reached an impasse in its ongoing salary negotiations for the 8 members of the Grenada Public Workers Union (GPWU), and the matter has been forwarded to the Office of the Labour Commissioner.
Negotiations in relation to the terms and conditions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement have effectively ceased. In accordance, therefore, with section 45(2) of the Labour Relations Act Chapter 157A of the 2010 Continuous Revised Edition of the Laws of Grenada (Labour Relations Act) and based on the stipulated provisions within the ambits of the Labour Relations Act, GIDC has referred the matter to the Office of the Labour Commissioner for a resolution.
The negotiating team for GIDC began negotiations on August 20, 2021, with a view to agreeing on the terms and conditions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement 2019-2024. Subsequent to the commencement date of 20 August 2021, meetings were held between GIDC and GPWU on 2 December 2021, 16 December 2021, and 16 March 2022.
At the meeting held on 2 December 2021, GIDC’s proposals were the following: for 2019, there will be a one-off payment of 2%, and for 2020 and 2021, it will be 0%.
The salary increases for the respective years were rejected by GPWU, and it instead proposed 6% for 2019; 7% for 2020; and 7% for 2021.
At the meeting held on 16 March 2022, GIDC counterproposed the following:
- 2019 – 2%
- 2020 – 1%
- 2021 – 1.5%
GPWU, again, rejected and proposed the following:
- 2019 – 5.5%,
- 2020 – 6%
- 2021 – 6%.
It is important to note that the Corporation’s financial disposition in the year preceding, and the years for which the proposed salary increases are applicable shows a financial deficit of: EC$405,873.00 for 2018; EC$161,010.00 for 2019, and EC$241,965.00 for 2020. These deficits are a direct result of loss of revenue from Building 10 at Frequente Industrial Park which was destroyed by fire in 2018. Additionally, fiscal constraints have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cognisant of its fiscal limitations, on 23 March 2022, GIDC wrote to GPWU advising that GIDC’s proposals regarding salary increases being 2% for 2019, 1% for 2020 and 2% for 2021 were based on a directive of the Ministry for Finance, as guided by the Public Finance Management Act.
GIDC remains committed to the rights of all its workers and looks forward to a speedy resolution of this matter.
GIDC
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