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  • 3 days ago

Former General Secretary of the Public Services Association and ex-presidential candidate, Nixon Callender, says what has unfolded with the PSA in recent weeks isn't wage negotiations, it's a political arrangement.

He argues that the PSA President is out of her depth, and that the 10% increase received, is simply the fulfilment of a platform promise.

More from Nicole M Romany.





Transcript
00:00Former PSA General Secretary Nixon Callender also weighs in on a fresh dispute between the PSA and the Chief Personnel Officer,
00:09even after both parties agreed to and signed the 20% wage increase.
00:15The debacle revolves around the non-cash option for some $3.8 billion in payback,
00:22which PSA President Felicia Thomas says was never part of the agreement.
00:26But Callender tells us this is simply the aftermath of a political game.
00:32What comes next is what we are seeing going on now, right?
00:36What is the unwritten language, the blank sheet of paper behind signatures, all this back and early on.
00:44We didn't sign for this and we didn't agree to that.
00:48All of that now is playing out in the public domain.
00:51And I'll go back to what I just said.
00:53If it was our negotiations, following the process of the PSA,
00:59which is the wage negotiations, it doesn't start with the executive.
01:04It starts with us.
01:06According to Callender, there's little to celebrate.
01:09He says inflation has already eaten away more than 10% of public servants' wages.
01:15And in reality, the association has settled for less.
01:20He argues that a fairer increase would have been 19.5%,
01:24but adds that proper negotiations have been stalled for quite some time.
01:29This process also has started in 2014.
01:34But who was there in the PSA in 2014?
01:37You had another political animal.
01:39The politics of the day has not satisfied what the economy has done to public officers
01:49and our membership over the years.
01:51It has benefited individuals.
01:54What happened in 2017?
01:57What happened in 2019?
01:58Who was there?
01:59Another political animal.
02:01Callender says that when it comes to other unions, his position is clear.
02:06They stayed silent at a time when they should have spoken out.
02:11They sat idly by over the years
02:14and watched mainstream politics take over planning of trade union activities.
02:21They have sat back and watched that.
02:24They have said nothing.
02:25They are in a political pickle for what they have encouraged over the years.
02:31As far as I am concerned, and this is my opinion,
02:34their negotiations have come to an end.
02:36When they went and signed on the dotted line, it came to an end.
02:41They could have held out.
02:42Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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