Union representing Sagicor Bank employees wants Labour Ministry intervention amid ongoing wage talks

There is reportedly growing disquiet among employees at Sagicor Bank branches across Jamaica over protracted wage negotiations.

Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) Vice President, Rudolph Thomas, in a statement on Tuesday, indicated that employees have been wearing black to work to signal their dissatisfaction.

Thomas said the union’s claims for improved wages and benefits were submitted in October 2024, but negotiations have become increasingly drawn out, extending beyond eight months since a clarification meeting held on January 31, 2025, with both bargaining units.

Thomas contends that while the employer has publicly celebrated strong financial performance and achievements over the past year, it has failed to extend a fair and reasonable wage offer to employees.

He indicated that unionised staff have mandated the BITU to reject the current wage offer and to serve a 72-hour notice of industrial action on Sagicor Bank’s management.

The union says it anticipates the intervention of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security today.

Thomas cautioned that, failing such intervention, normal operations at Sagicor Bank branches across the island may be disrupted.

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