Public servants to get salary increase – Vice President assures

Feb 16, 2021 News

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo.

Kaieteur News – Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has dispelled claims that there will be no wages and salary increases for public servants this year.
In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Dr. Jagdeo noted that the A Partnership For National Unity + Alliance For Change coalition continues to mislead its supporters and the Guyanese public with their incorrect statements. He said, “The fact is that over $10B has been budgeted in the (budget) estimates under the head, ‘revision of wages and salaries’. A huge part of that sum will go towards salary increases for public sector workers.”
Notably, no statements were made regarding an increase of wages and salaries for public servants as the Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, presented the 2021 National Budget last Friday.
Dr. Singh, however, did note that in 2020, his administration sought to bring relief to public servants in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by giving them a one-off payment which saw a total of almost $2 billion being disbursed. According to the Minister, over 60,000 employees in the public sector benefitted from that initiative. He also said that while some countries around the world reduced working hours and associated salaries for their workers as part of their pandemic response, the Irfaan Ali administration retained all public servants at full pay while allowing a rotational work system and work from home system, where applicable, to mitigate transmission of the COVID-19 virus.
Further, Dr. Singh noted that $1.1 billion was placed in the hands of over 19,000 health workers and members of the disciplined services.
Additionally, the PPP/C administration had promised a 50 percent salary increase for public servants throughout its election campaign and saw a downpour of heavy criticisms when no salary increases were announced last year. The Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, who held a financial portfolio at the time, had stated that wages and salary increases will be considered in future budgets.

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