The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (AAA) presented an amended salary scale proposal on Friday to the Unión Independiente Auténtica (UIA), following three days of negotiations over the Classification and Compensation Plan. AAA's Vice President of Administration, Karim del Valle Gregory, said the offer will be presented by the UIA's Executive Committee to union members at an assembly Saturday at 8:30 a.m. at the Coliseo Manuel "Petaca" Iguina Reyes in Arecibo. UIA President José Cajigas Romero said the union has maintained open dialogue with management and fulfilled its responsibility to bring fair proposals, and will now inform members directly of the results and the latest economic offer.
The third day of talks took place at the Department of Labor and Human Resources offices in Hato Rey. Del Valle Gregory noted that if members accept the new economic model, it must still be evaluated and approved by AAA's Governing Board and then by the Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) before taking effect. Neither party has commented publicly on the specific proposals.
Before negotiations began, the UIA had sought to raise the base wage from $10.50 to $12.50 per hour, with progressive increases for other salary levels.