Public sector workers get 8% retroactive salary increase

Public servants, teachers, members of the disciplined services, constitutional office holders, as well as government pensioners will receive an eight per cent across-the-board retroactive salary increase announced by President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali.

The President also announced that an adjustment to the salaries of junior ranks of the Police Force, Prison Service, Fire Service and specific categories of employees in the public healthcare system, including nurses, interns, doctors and other healthcare professionals will be announced next week.

Ali made the live announcement on Thursday evening, via his official Facebook page. He stressed that the government’s appreciation for the hard work of public sector employees in delivering services to the people of Guyana, and stated that work will start immediately to ensure the increase is processed and paid to eligible employees with their December salary.

Ali pointed out too that options will be identified for the adjustment of salaries to a number of specific categories of public sector employees, to be announced within the coming week.

“These include, in the first phase, ranks of the Police Force, Prison Service, and Fire Service. Additionally, a similar exercise is currently being conducted and recommendations being made in relation to specific categories of employees in our public healthcare system, including nurses, interns, doctors, and other healthcare professionals,” he stated.

It was noted that these commitments by the government fall against the backdrop of a number of other measures implemented since its assumption to office in August 2020, with the aim of improving disposable incomes to public sector employees and Guyanese at large.

Ali said that these include the payment of a 7 per cent across-the-board increase in 2021; the restoration of one-month tax-free year-end bonuses to the disciplined services totalling more than $1B GUY per annum; an increase of some 40 per cent in the monthly old-age pension from $20,500 to $28,000, providing a total pension payout of more than $21B GUY to senior citizens; an increase of 55 per cent in public assistance payments from $9,000 to $14,000 monthly, which provided a total of more than $3B GUY  in annual income support to the beneficiaries of the programme, among other interventions.

It was note that other noteworthy incentives include the restoration of the cash grants to the parents of school-aged children, totalling some $6B GUY in direct cash transfers, and an increase in the minimum wage for private sector employees by 36 per cent to $60,147, in keeping with the recommendations of the tripartite committee.

“Needless to say, these and other similar measures augmented the many other steps taken by our government to remove the punitive taxes that had been imposed by APNU/AFC on electricity, water, medical and educational supplies, basic household necessities, and basic construction materials,” the President noted.

Further, Government had also implemented a number of measures to mitigate the effects of the rise in cost of living, most notably the removal of the excise tax on fuel, capping freight charges used in calculating import taxes, providing fertiliser and other support to farmers to boost food production, and direct cash transfers to especially vulnerable communities.

Additionally, the PPP/C government continues to examine ways of improving the income of Guyanese, and ensuring that each citizen reaps the benefits of the major-scale developments taking place across the country.