Techa Clarke-Griffiths has been elected the first female president of the 104-year-old Jamaica Civil Service Association, a union representing over 30,000 government workers.
She replaces O’Neil Grant who stepped down after serving in the position for 12 years.
Clarke-Griffiths, a director, strategic planning and performance management at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, was declared president on Friday at the association’s annual general meeting in St Andrew.
She was previously first vice-president.
Some 1,753 votes were accepted in the elections, according to a JCSA statement issued Saturday.
Clarke-Griffiths received 1,072 or 61.2 per cent of the votes, to beat three other contenders.
Gillian Corrodus, polled 531 votes while former co-chair of the association’s Women’s Action Committee Onydeen Lawrence-Jack received 130 votes.
The sole male entrant Leo Byfield polled 20 votes.
Grant has now shifted to the position immediate past president in which he’ll serve for the next two years.
In statement on Wednesday, Grant said his departure is “a bittersweet moment” as he was leaving something he loved though he was proud of JCSA’s development over the years.
“The lot of public sector workers have improved under my tenure, but we still have a long way to go and with your support the journey will be much easier for my successor. The issues are much more than wages or compensation even as that dominates our every waking thought and all our discussions but there will be life after the compensation restructuring,” said Grant, who gave notice of his departure two years ago.
Grant is returning to his post as a financial analyst at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining come June 1.
He has confirmed his interest in the Cabinet Secretary position. While there’s been no official announcement, Audrey Sewell, permanent secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, has been tipped to take the top public service job.
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