#Kingston, 23 November 2022 – The proposed introduction of paternity leave for fathers of newborns and family leave for adoptive parents bringing a new child into the home is scheduled to come into force on 1 January 2023.
This is what the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and Public Service, Mr. Marsha Smith, who also advised that the proposed increase in paid maternity leave from 40 days to three months will begin in January.
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She was speaking at the Civil Service Week Public Forum at The Jamaica Pegasus
hotel on November 22. The forum was held under the theme “Public Sector: Moving Forward with Determination”.
The changes come from the current review of public sector compensation and will be facilitated by the update of the Public Sector Staff Orders 2004.
The compensation review aims to review the structure of salaries and other payments in the public service.
“This is an opportunity for other Jamaicans who have the capacity and ability to take on the care of raising a child. If you are a public servant, you will be given that opportunity to give those weeks to place that child before fully returning to work. That is why we are trying to modernize the public sector in real ways to meet the ways of public servants, not only in terms of compensation but also in the overall quality of life,” she said.
Ms. Smith said the goal is to ensure that public servants are compensated in ways that are competitive with the domestic private market as well as international markets.
“These changes will ensure we are able to retain talent locally, which will ensure an efficient and streamlined public sector,” she said.
Meanwhile, she indicated that the Ministry of Finance and Public Service have reached an agreement with several unions representing public sector employees on the restructured public sector compensation system.
“I was very pleased last week when the Ministry of Finance, together with its union partners…were able to sign several memorandums of understanding, and these…cover approximately 60,000 employees and we are well on our way to seeing the entire public sector was transformed. “, pointed out Mrs. Smith.
“The Minister of Finance… is committed to ensuring that we implement public sector compensation that is fair, transparent and sustainable. He is determined to ensure that every public sector worker is better off financially. To all public sector employees, I say be patient; there’s always a difference when there’s transformation, but in the end, everything eventually calms down,” she said.
Ms. Smith saluted all the unions who have passionately represented their members throughout the process, “and I acknowledge the confidence they have shown in the government by signing this agreement.”
“For those who have not yet signed, I encourage you to do so. I am convinced that this is a step in the right direction as we continue to change various aspects of the transformation of the public sector”, she said.
Also present were the Minister of Finance and Public Sector, Dr. Nigel Clarke; Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Audrey Sewell; President, Jamaica Civil Service Association, O’Neil Grant; and Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Delta Capital Partners, Zachary Harding.
The public forum was part of events to observe Civil Service Week 2022.
Contact: Chris Patterson
Issue: JIS
