Would Lifting the Increment Freeze Require Tweaking the Budget?

Dean Flowers

When the talk of lifting the increment freeze comes into play, the question of whether or not the government might have to adjust its expenditure for its National Budget to reflect this new addendum becomes a live issue, but according to P.S.U. President Flowers, not necessarily.

Dean Flowers, President, P.S.U

“If you’re going to provide for an expenditure within a fiscal year, irregardless of when you effect that expenditure – incur that expenditure – sorry, you would’ve already budgeted for it. So in terms of the government’s projection on the revenue side to be able to match the increments, I don’t know if they did an analysis in terms of when there would be a higher inflow of revenues to be able to accommodate that increase versus the proposed date that we’re suggesting. I don’t know. That is not my responsibility. I think we’re paying somebody for the past ten years over a hundred thousand dollars to do that. So it’s for him to do those tweaking if it’s necessary. In my humble opinion, I don’t think there’ll be much tweaking that would be necessary. Today I think we discussed several very important issues that we will need to collaborate with the government on if it is that we’re supposed to, help improve the fiscal situation requirements.”

Reporter

“What happens though if the decision from Cabinet isn’t in your favor?

Elena Smith

Senator Elena Smith, President, B.N.T.U.

“I think that’s what I was gonna say, depending on what response we get from them on Tuesday or Wednesday, then we will determine whether we have to meet again to fresh short, a bit more the matter of increments. I think we, what we want to put on a record is the matter of the pension reform, because I understand that the Prime Minister indicated to the media that it was us who suggested April first. So if it is that, that is what he said, I haven’t seen it, but if that is what was said then that is not true. We didn’t suggest any date. It was them who told us April first. We have said to them that we were not in agreement with April first because we had to have these discussions. You can’t just put something on the table like just like that without having these discussions and see what would be the implications on our members for something such as a pension reform.”