After months of coordinated advocacy on behalf of public sector workers across Dominica, the Dominica Public Service Union (DPSU) has released an update confirming notable headway in resolving long-running grievances over pay and working conditions at multiple major state institutions — while sounding the alarm over two organizations where employees have gone more than 10 years without any salary adjustment.
In a formal public statement detailing the outcomes of its recent representation work, the DPSU noted that affected workers have broadly welcomed the incremental wins and expressed gratitude for the union’s targeted intervention to push stalled negotiations forward.
One of the most significant breakthroughs came at Dominica State College, where a years-long backlog of unresolved salary issues has been fully settled. Faculty and staff will see a 3% pay increase reflected in their October paychecks, marking the first adjustment to their compensation in a lengthy period. Beyond pay, both college management and the DPSU have signed off on a revised job classification framework, a long-sought reform that will bring clearer role definitions and fairer career progression pathways. The two sides have also formalized a transparent process for approving permanent appointments for workers who have held temporary positions for extended periods. Additionally, long-delayed repairs to the college’s main auditorium, a critical facility for campus events and community gatherings, are on track to kick off in the coming weeks.
At another high-priority site, the Dominica-China Friendship Hospital, all outstanding back pay owed to doctors and non-clinical staff was disbursed to employees last week. As part of a broader restructuring of medical employment arrangements, doctors are scheduled to sign new formal contracts with the Ministry of Health on October 19. The new contracts will run for an initial 12-month term, after which performance reviews will lead to two-year renewable contracts, with pathways to permanent appointments for any eligible role that has a permanent vacancy open. In a major administrative change that will streamline pay processing and improve financial security for medical staff, all doctor salaries will be disbursed directly by the Dominican government starting October 1, replacing the previous system where pay was handled by the Hospitals Authority. Recommendations for filling open permanent positions at the hospital are currently being finalized for submission to the Public Service Commission for approval.
The union has also secured tangible improvements for the island’s fire service, another sector that has faced widespread working condition complaints. Thirteen new replacement mattresses for on-duty staff staying at fire stations were delivered over the past weekend, with an additional 30 units scheduled to arrive within the next 14 days. Much-needed new uniforms — including work trousers and safety footwear — are expected to be distributed within three weeks, barring unexpected international shipping delays, and other critical supply orders are set to arrive this week. To further evaluate facility conditions across the service, the Cabinet Secretary and Chief Personnel Officer have scheduled site visits to multiple fire stations this week. Upcoming talks with the Ministry of National Security will tackle remaining core grievances: hazard pay adjustments, overloaded work schedules, insufficient vehicle fleets, and broader upgrades to substandard working conditions.
Despite these across-the-board gains, the DPSU has emphasized that it remains deeply concerned about the stagnant pay for workers at two public bodies: the Discover Dominica Authority, the island’s national tourism marketing agency, and the AID Bank. Employees at both organizations have not received any salary increase for more than a decade, according to worker testimonies collected by the union. The DPSU has already sent formal negotiating requests to the leadership of both institutions. While a formal negotiation session has been scheduled with the AID Bank, the union has yet to lock in a meeting date with Discover Dominica Authority, even after engaging the Tourism Minister to mediate the process. Union leadership reiterated that resolving these two long-running pay disputes is a top organizational priority, and it will continue aggressive advocacy until fair resolutions are reached for affected workers.