P.S.U. Prez Breaks Down the New Pay Scale

In our analysis of the new pay scales for teachers and public officers, we spoke with Dean Flowers, President of the Public Service Union.  He gave us a perspective on how the adjusted wages will affect not only himself, but others on various levels of the salary band.  While those on the lower rung of that ladder will not be affected, anyone whose earnings is on pay scale five or above will see a sharp reduction in monthly and annual income.  Flowers explains:

On the Phone: Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union

“I am looking at, and I can draw a quick analogy or comparison, so if you look at somebody on pay scale five under the 2017 pay scale, someone on pay scale five, the starting point would be thirteen thousand, one hundred and fifty-two dollars.  The annual increment for that individual would be seven hundred and ninety-one dollars.  On this revised pay scale, that person will now only be earning eleven thousand, eight hundred and thirty-seven [dollars].  So they move from thirteen thousand, one hundred and fifty-two dollars to eleven thousand, eight hundred and thirty-seven [dollars] and their increment, whenever that is instituted now falls from eight hundred and sixty-five dollars to seven hundred and twelve dollars.  Individuals between pay scales one and four are not affected.  What is even humorous, if I can use that term, is that the individual on pay scale four, because they’re not affected, their increment will now be higher than those on pay scale five.  Pay scale sixteen, that’s a pay scale that I have no problem speaking about because that’s a pay scale that I sit on and my increment under the current pay scale would have been one thousand, three hundred and ten dollars a year.  Under the new pay scale that will only be one thousand, one hundred and seventy-nine.  So I am saying that not only are people’s salaries being cut by ten percent and being placed four points backwards, interestingly enough, they keep you at the same pay scale but not at the same salary point and I guess that is so for those individuals who are on a particular salary point so they won’t have to just work their way backwards but they can simply look at the new pay scale where the point is and they can identify with their new salary.  But for me it’s a double whammy because nowhere in the conversation was it agreed or suggested that even when your increment was instituted, if and when in 2024 that it would have also been affected.”