by Curlan Campbell, NOW Grenada
- Bank and General Workers Union and GDB reach 3-year agreement
- Agreement covers salary increases of 3% in 2017, 3% for 2018 and 4% for 2019
The Bank and General Workers Union has been successful in securing a 10% salary increase for workers of the Grenada Development Bank (GDB), over a 3-year period. Both Parties were able to reach an agreement last Thursday. The union represents 14 permanent workers at GDB.
The 3-year agreement reached covers the period 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2019 and contains new conditions for the workers regarding insurance and pension, health and safety and callout allowance, etc. Workers also benefit from 5 days personal business leave and uniform allowance.
Field officer Joseph Mitchell said the inclusion of insurance and pension is a plus for workers. “We were able to have it embedded in the agreement which we believe is significant because pension and insurance means a lot for the employees’ long-term benefits.”
Mitchell said an agreement was reached within 3 months. “The negotiations in our view went very well. We were able to sit down with bank managers and look at things objectively. At the end of the day, we thought that we were able to come up with an agreement that reflected the interest both of the employer and employees. We all walked away from the table feeling satisfied.”
The new collective agreement covers salary increases of 3% in 2017, 3% for 2018 and 4% for 2019. Article 19 of the agreement speaks to annual vacation leave for employees based on years of service as follows:
- 1 to 3 years: 15 days
- 4 to 7 years: 20 days
- 8 to 10 years: 25 days
- over 10 years: 30 days
