‘Minimum wage public servants get $6000 monthly pay hike’

Nov 18, 2022 News

---

– as Pres Ali announces 8% across-the-board increase    

Kaieteur News – In a country with one of the world’s largest oil reserves and dubbed the ‘fastest growing economy in the world’ President Irfaan Ali on Thursday announced a mere eight percent, across-the-board salary increase for public servants, retroactive from January 2022. And he promised to make another announcement for members of the joint services and healthcare workers next week. Ali’s announcement comes even after the state workers were given seven percent last year. When analysed against the rising cost of living, which Ali acknowledged, many public servants feel that the increase is inadequate. Opposition Member of Parliament, Ganesh Mahipaul said the eight percent increase is “disgraceful, distasteful, disrespectful and unconscionable.”

He pointed out that President Ali receives a salary of somewhere around $1, 800, 000 (One Million, Eight Hundred Thousand Dollars.) “Based on his announcement he will get 8% salary increase. 8% of $1,800,000 is $144 000 and when we multiply that by 12 months to cater for the retroactive he will get $1, 728, 000 (One Million, Seven Hundred and Twenty Eight Thousand Dollars) as his salary increase. So Irfaan for December will take home over $3.5M (Three Million, Five Hundred Thousand Dollars.),” Mahipaul said.

He added that the President ministers receive close to $900 000 monthly and with the 8% salary increase retroactive they will each take home for December their $900 000 plus $864 000, a total of $1, 764, 000 (One Million, Seven hundred and Sixty Four Thousand Dollars.)

“Point to note: the above is just salaries. I made no mention of their allowances.”

It must be noted that the minimum wage in the public sector is $75,000, which means that the increase will move the salary up to $6000 monthly to $81,000.

Meanwhile, during a televised announcement of the measure, President Ali said the across-the-board increase of eight percent will benefit public servants, teachers, members of the disciplined services, constitutional office holders, as well as Government pensioners. This increase will be granted retroactively to 1st January 2022. He said work will start immediately to ensure that this increase is processed and paid to eligible employees together with their December salary.

President Ali said this commitment by his government comes against the backdrop of the several other measures which they have implemented since assuming office, all with the aim of improving disposable incomes to public sector employees and Guyanese at large.

These measures include: The payment of a 7 percent across-the-board increase in 2021; the restoration of the one-month tax-free year-end bonuses to the disciplined services totalling more than $1 billion per annum; an increase of about 40 percent in the monthly old-age pension from $20,500 to $28,000, providing a total pension payout of more than $21 billion to our senior citizens; an increase of 55 percent in public assistance payments from $9,000 to $14,000 monthly, providing a total of more than $3 billion in annual income support to the beneficiaries of this programme; restoration of the cash grants to the parents of school-aged children, increasing the amount provided for each child to $30,000 and extending the programme to children attending private schools. In total, this provides $6 billion of direct cash transfers to the parents of 200,000 schoolchildren; and an increase in the minimum wage for private sector employees by 36 percent to $60,147, in keeping with the recommendations of the tripartite committee.

Ali said 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. Additionally, he said his government remains mindful of the extraordinary shocks experienced this year in relation to the cost of living, especially arising from imported factors. “It would be recalled that we implemented a number of measures to mitigate the effects of these imported shocks. These include removal of the excise tax on fuel, capping the 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.”

According to President Ali consistent with all these earlier measures, “I have instructed that options be identified for adjustment to the salaries paid to a number of specific categories of public sector employees. 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. In relation to these categories of employees, I am planning to make a more detailed announcement during the course of next week.”  President Ali added that his Government continues to value highly the hard work that public servants do every day in delivering services to the people of Guyana.

---

---