The Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC) has described the recently announced increase in salaries for government officials as ungracious and inequitable and has appealed for the salary hike to be reconsidered.
The more than 200 per cent increase in salary for the Prime Minister, Member of Parliaments, the Opposition Leader and other government officials has left some members of the public outraged.
The JCC noted that although the matter of salaries for public servants is a complex and vexed one which the government has attempted to address in the recent Compensation Review, the sentiments being expressed by the general society suggest there is still dissatisfaction with the process.
“We are concerned that the apparent philosophical underpinning for the massive increases in the salaries of governmental officials is the use of the principle of equality. We fear that the outcomes of such a pursuit would simply maintain the status quo and worsen the disparities which exist,” the JCC said in a press release signed by its president, the Most Rev Kenneth D Richards.
“We propose that the guiding principle which ought to undergird all policies and practices should be equity. In this way, the inclusive provision of fairness and justice to all levels will be ensured. In concrete terms this means it would be those at the lower levels of the salary scales who would need the greatest levels of increase to make it possible for them to attain a livable wage,” the ecumenical body stated.
The group, which represents several of the more traditional churches in Jamaica, expressed concern about the widening income disparities between those in government and those they govern. It said the fact that the proposed increase exceeds the rate of what was offered to other public sector workers, flies in the face of the majority of Jamaicans and the sad realities they face daily.
“We call on the government to reconsider its intentions and recast the salary packages for government officials which bears sensitivity to and solidarity with the conditions of ordinary Jamaicans and reflects equity in both quantitative and qualitative respects,” the JCC appealed.
