Union boss preparing to fight public sector job cuts next year

The Union of Clerical Administrative and Supervisory Employees (UCASE) says it will be demanding public sector job security in its wage and fringe benefits claims to be presented next month.

UCASE president Vincent Morrison says his team is now finalising the claims to be served on the Government by mid-January.

The union represents hundreds of workers employed to the Jamaica Urban Transit Company, the Financial Services Commission, the Urban Development Corporation and other institutions.

According to Morrison, there is unease among public sector workers following utterances by Government officials about potential job cuts.

However, he says his union will be seeking to protect them because years ago, they agreed to several years of wage freezes to protect their jobs.

When the Government implements aspects of the public sector transformation agenda next year, people employed in human resources will be the first group of public sector employees whose jobs will be cut.

This first stage of job cuts is scheduled to start in August 2017, according to the Government's Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies published by the International Monetary Fund.

Jamaica has been preparing for the rationalisation process since 2011, with the completion of the master rationalisation plan.