Agreement signed on the port of Kingston
The Shipping Association of Jamaica and Unions representing stevedores have signed a historic four-year wage agreement, according to Jamaican press
Traditionally, wage agreements between the SAJ and the unions were for two-year periods. However, the negotiators on both sides said that their discussions took into account the state of the Jamaican economy, the recent International Monetary Fund agreement, the country’s reliance on a growing shipping industry, and the widening of the locks in the Panama Canal as well as plans for the establishment of a Global Logistics Hub.
Minister of Labour and Social Security stated that the new agreement covering the four-year period November 2012 to October 2016, is of critical importance to the overall development of the Port of Kingston, which constitutes an important part of the economic life and development of Jamaica and that it is of strategic importance to the overall success of the Jamaican economy. This is the first time an agreement with such a long duration has been signed on the Port of Kingston
