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A 26 per cent or $30.7-billion increase in total government expenditure, largely driven by the recent public sector compensation exercise, stood among the key highlights of the fiscal performance review delivered by the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC) Thursday.

Describing the undertaking as unprecedented and one “never seen in the history of Jamaica”, chairman of EPOC Keith Duncan said that the increased employee compensations, which went up by about $24 billion or near 53 per cent, significantly added to total year-on-year expenditure totalling $148.4 billion for the April-May 2022 review period.

“Wages and salaries was a very hot topic and continue to be a sort of hot potato for many. Total wages and salaries was $95.2 billion ahead of 2021/22, coming in at $317.9 billion — which is actually 42.8 per cent greater than the 2021/22 year. This public sector review has been a very complex one and I believe the Ministry of Finance has done a very good job in restructuring the compensations, making them more efficient, reducing the salary bands and the number of allowances. The most important thing is that we now have an efficient compensation model,” Duncan said.

https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/public-sector-wage-increases-drive-up-fiscal-expenditure/