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The Na­tion­al Trade Union Cen­tre (NATUC) and the Joint Trade Union Move­ment (JTUM) be­lieve Prime Min­is­ter Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar can up­hold her promise to pre­serve and ex­pand pub­lic sec­tor jobs.

But while the labour move­ment wel­comed her an­nounce­ment, the Em­ploy­ers Con­sul­ta­tive As­so­ci­a­tion (ECA) of­fered cau­tious sup­port to the state’s abil­i­ty to fi­nance both the cre­ation of new jobs and the con­ver­sion of con­tract work in­to per­ma­nent ones.

With an es­ti­mat­ed $19 bil­lion an­nu­al pub­lic sec­tor wage bill, rep­re­sent­ing 10.2 per cent of GDP, Per­sad-Bisses­sar as­sured on Wednes­day that she would do all she could to pro­tect pub­lic ser­vice em­ploy­ment. Her com­ments fol­lowed claims by for­mer fi­nance min­is­ter Colm Im­bert, who al­leged that the Gov­ern­ment had ex­haust­ed its funds and was di­vert­ing in­fra­struc­ture al­lo­ca­tions to meet salaries.