PRASA says its economic proposal is final but keeps dialogue open following strike vote approval

Karim del Valle Gregory, vice president of administration at the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, in foreground (Facebook via Acueductospr)

By THE STAR STAFF

Karim del Valle Gregory, vice president of administration at the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA), said over the weekend that the salary scale increase proposal from the Authentic Independent Union (UIA by its initials in Spanish) exceeds the amount approved by the Financial Oversight and Management Board.

“PRASA has carried out every possible technical, economic, and financial analysis to identify the necessary funds and present a proposal that ensures fair wages for our employees,” del Valle Gregory said Saturday in a written statement. “We also have a responsibility to ensure that any alternative is viable and sustainable, since, to take effect, it must first be approved by the PRASA Governing Board and subsequently by the Fiscal Board [sic].”

She noted that the UIA requested a new meeting and that management will grant the request to hear from union representatives following the decision made by their membership.

Although the proposal presented last Friday constitutes PRASA’s final economic offer, the official said, the public corporation will keep the door open for dialogue to understand the UIA’s position regarding next steps.

The UIA proposed setting the minimum wage for the initial pay scales at $12.50 and making other changes to scales 2, 3 and 4, which would require major changes to the plan’s structure and increase its fiscal impact, del Valle Gregory noted.

“It would be necessary to redo the entire Classification and Compensation Plan and the comparability analysis required by the [oversight] Board, which would then be evaluated against the Board’s guidelines,” she said.

The PRASA proposal calls for implementing the Classification and Compensation Plan in September 2026, retroactive to Oct. 23, 2025. Under this alternative, some 72% of employees represented by the UIA would receive a salary increase, in addition to retroactive pay.

As part of the proposal, PRASA also raised the minimums for the first two salary scales after identifying the necessary resources to fund those adjustments. Pay Scale 1 would increase from $10.92 to $11.74 per hour, and Pay Scale 2 from $11.74 to $12.25 per hour.

On Saturday, the UIA membership approved a strike vote via a voice vote. The decision followed their rejection -- also by voice vote -- of the latest economic offer presented by PRASA regarding the PCR during an extraordinary assembly held at Manuel “Petaca” Iguina Reyes Coliseum in Arecibo.