State Insurance salary increase hearing awaits conciliator’s report

The issue of a pay increase at the State Insurance Corporation will conclude when the conciliator prepares a report coming out of two days of hearings.
Yesterday wrapped up two days of hearing before Maureen Hyman, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour, where presentations were made by representatives from the indigenous insurance company and the workers’ representatives from the Antigua Trades and Labour Union (AT&LU), who are asking for more than an eight percent salary increase over three years.
“We are awaiting the report of the conciliator. We met, we had the discussion of the case and so we are just waiting now on the report to determine our next move,” Robert Joshua, shop steward for the line staff said yesterday.
The shop steward said it was not certain how soon the report was expected to be prepared.
Speaking after Wednesday’s three-hour session, Joshua said the meeting was cordial.
“I am just hoping for the best and based on the report we will see where we go from there,” Joshua added.
Pay increase negotiations have been ongoing for some time. However, at least 50 employees engaged in a three-day sit-in last week in protest of the proposed eight percent increase by the corporation. The workers claim that eight percent is not enough.
The matter was brought to the attention of the labour ministry and a two-hour meeting was convened last week.
The protest ended with the understanding the meeting would have yielded positive results for the workers.