SUMMARY OF PUBLIC SECTOR SALARY SCALES
Ministry of Finance and the Public Service 30 National Heroes Cir, Kingston (876) 922-8600 custserv@mof.gov.jm mofps.pr@mof.gov.jm
The Government of Jamaica is implementing a new compensation structure for the public sector effective April 1, 2022 to transform the current system which had become exceedingly complex, difficult to manage, lacked equity in instances and the year-on-year outcomes of the overall wage bill were unpredictable.
The new structure seeks to put in place a system that is fair, transparent, rewards performance, attracts and retains talent to run the public bureaucracy and is sustainable. At full implementation, employees will see at least a 20% increase in their net pay. However, most employees’ increase will exceed that.
The Government set out to align salaries in the core public sector not only with the private sector but also with the Public Bodies. This was because compensation levels between the public sector and the private sector generally and between the core civil service and the rest of the public sector had been severely eroded over time.
To do this, there was no arbitrary application of percentage increases. Instead, the Government took a scientific and principled approach where selected positions in the core civil service and the public sector were evaluated using the same methodology and then compared with the private sector to establish the overall compensation value of the jobs.
The second step was to determine at what level the Government could pay the public officers and sustain that payment in the future. The Government commissioned a comprehensive market study of private sector entities to inform the position. This was just about the middle of the market – the 2nd quartile.
The new compensation structure focuses on a total compensation approach. This means it takes into account salary and allowances and consolidated these, where possible and identified other allowances for restructuring.
The final step was the creation of salary scales and aligning the various job levels to the new pay bands based on the evaluation that was carried out.
Contained in this insert is a sample of the new salary bands compared to the old salary scales. The increases shown pertain to the movement in total compensation at the minimum and maximum of the salary scales to the new salary bands and not individual salary increases.
It is important to note that Travelling was a non-taxable allowance. Travelling allowance is shown only where all persons in that job classification were in receipt of it. In the other job classifications where only some persons were in receipt of travelling, the allowance is not shown.
SUMMARY OF PUBLIC SECTOR SALARY SCALES