McDonald

IN A MOVE to save their jobs, workers at Berger Paints Jamaica Limited have agreed to a 20 per cent reduction in basic salary. This comes against the background of several local companies implementing cost-cutting measures, including staff redundancy, in response to the global economic meltdown and the resultant downturn in the Jamaican economy.

The salary cut was signed off in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the management of the paint company and the two unions representing their workers, the National Workers Union (NWU) and its affiliate, the Union of Clerical Administrative and Supervisory Employees (UCASE). The MOU comes into effect on Monday, February 2, and will see most workers operating on a four-day workweek based on an eight-hour day.

The salary-reduction agreement should allow Berger to save $70 million over the next six months while saving jobs and improving its financial position.

A committee comprising NWU Deputy Island Supervisor Danny Roberts, UCASE General Secretary Navel Clarke, Berger Paint Regional Managing Director Warren McDonald, dele-gates and management representatives will meet periodically to review the state of the company's performance.

Improve productivity

The committee will also focus on measures to improve productivity and efficiency at the plant.

According to Berger, several other measures have already been instituted by the management to contain cost and improve revenue inflows based on discussions with the unions.

Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) is the latest company to announce staff redundancy. On Wednesday, JMMB said it would make 50 jobs redundant in March, coming after the implementation of other cost-cutting measures.