Finance Minister – Increase to healthcare workers’ salary: a significant step to fixing remuneration anomalies

The salary increases for healthcare workers nationwide form part of the PPP/C Government’s overarching approach towards rectifying the age-old remuneration anomalies.

On Monday evening, President, Irfaan Ali announced several adjustments to salaries payable to specified positions within the health sector. This is in addition to the eight per cent across-the-board increase already announced.

It was disclosed that the adjustments will see more than $1.5B GUY of disposable income going into the pockets of public healthcare professionals annually. Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh believes the declaration will help in fixing public sector workers’ salary issues.

Dr Singh during a televised programme Monday evening, pointed out that the undertaking will ensure certain specialised categories of jobs remain attractive to talented Guyanese.

Dr Singh stressed that the salary adjustment represents a significant increase in emoluments paid to healthcare professionals at the aggregate level.

“Because the public healthcare system has hundreds of talented and dedicated doctors, nurses, dozens of pharmacists, technicians [and] we want to make sure that we continue to attract good quality input… in terms of the talents pool, we want to be able to attract people with good qualification,” the minister said.

Minister Singh explained that within the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) there is a system where young doctors are recognised and paid for their years of service.

“They come in as an intern, do their rotation… you become a medical doctor… after completing a year, you move up to post-graduate year one, two, three and beyond. Every additional year you spend in the GPHC system you get an adjustment in the salary,” he said.

But, this strategy, he noted is not being replicated at the other public healthcare institutions, the finance minister stressed.

“We are fixing that now. So, across the public health system, whether you are working at CPHC, Linden Hospital, Mabaruma Hospital, New Amsterdam or Lethem Hospital, this graduated system that renumerates you at one level when you are interning moves you further up,” he emphasised.

President Ali’s announcement also disclosed his administration’s desire to expand the local health sector, ensuring services offered to citizens are of international standard.

“Not only are we investing in bricks and mortars, physical facilities, but to also ensure that we invest in the human resources of our public healthcare system and this announcement is a manifestation of our government’s commitment,” he said.

Meanwhile, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony believes the salary adjustment will see more of Guyana’s medical talents remaining to support the local system. Dr Anthony stressed that the current investments in Guyanese healthcare have brought drastic change, adding that the quality of training for medical experts here would deter them from practising elsewhere.

“With this increase in salary certainly we are going to become more competitive in terms of retaining persons in the system and being able to offer a better quality of care,” he noted. The announcement made by the president, Dr Anthony noted, is one of the best news health workers could have for the year since the calls by the medical professionals were long overdue for the adjustment.

“As you know the president listens, and he has been listening to the calls of healthcare workers. We in the sector are extremely pleased with the increase in salaries,” Minister Anthony added.