The 7% pay increase for public servants

Nov 25, 2021 Letters

Dear Editor,

The recently announced seven percent pay rise for public servants, has undoubtedly created quite a discussion in opposition circles. The discussion ranges from the seven percent is not enough that pay rise should be 50 percent and rising. Well, I do not know which of the two sounds reasonable; however, I am very certain that there is not a territory on planet earth – especially during this pandemic – that has given a pay rise like ours. The point is our government has been more than generous in its offer to the public servants and for that, I say thank you government.
But before we get ahead of ourselves, let us take a step back and look into what obtained under the previous APNU+AFC Government. In the first instance, they raised their salaries and emoluments by 50 percent before ever considering their duties to the people who put them there. I would sarcastically add quite a “caring government” that is, take care of yourself and then see “if” you can accommodate the people and this is exactly what the Coalition Government did.
When the Coalition realised that the Treasury was depleted, they quickly raised every taxable income area possible. I am talking about over 200 new taxes. Most of our taxation, which in essence is a reduction in livable income was crafted and executed by the APNU regime. Then came the huge chopping of benefits, the ‘Because We Care’ for the school kids and the removal of the Christmas bonuses for the discipline services. The list is long; the list is endless.
We come to the public service, by this time, we were well into the fourth year of the Coalition’s mismanagement and the public servants were not given an increase. There was some sabre rattling about industrial action but nothing substantial, as you would reckon it is a public service that is heavily APNU supporters who were totally embarrassed by their own. It took the astute intervention of Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo to twist the arm of the Coalition to give them something.
They responded by giving the public servants 10 percent. To a casual onlooker, that 10 percent seems real, but when you look carefully that sum in actuality was an unreal figure, because it was 10 percent spread over four years which is 2.5 percent only the last year being tax free. The truth of the matter is that the public servants got nothing. Compare that with the restoration of the benefits and a seven percent retroactive pay from January of this year and you would see that the public servants got a reasonable pay increase.
Now, the charlatans of economic development are at their usual post, preaching their usual nonsense that the public servants deserve better, they are even pushing for industrial action. This is ludicrous to say the least, because when you compare what existed under the same individuals who are crying foul and what we are presently experiencing, you will see a vast improvement in the standard of living.
Only those who are so blinded by hate and political bias cannot see this; however, what I would kindly ask them to do is to take a serious introspection of the falsehoods, which they are now peddling and what makes for reality.

Respectfully submitted,
Neil Adams

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