A Christmas without backpay

Nov 19, 2025 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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(Kaieteur News) – There are moments in life when a society must confront a truly existential crisis. For the ancient Greeks, it was the nature of fate. For medieval philosophers, it was the problem of evil. For modern adults, it is whether a man can truly budget by deciding to eat only tennis rolls and mauby until payday.”

And for the Guyanese public servant—our noble bureaucratic gladiator—it is this: What does one do when Christmas arrives… and the backpay does not?

If this does not strike you as the stuff of national tragedy, you have clearly never seen a public servant confronted with a December pay slip that looks exactly like the November one. It is an emotional experience—somewhere between finding out your favourite food shop is closed and discovering your in-laws are coming for an “extended holiday.”

For decades, public servants were conditioned to expect a December miracle: a lump sum of retroactive salary, handed down by the PPPC like an annual economic sacrament. Not a bonus (heaven forbid we call it that!), but the hallowed retroactive adjustment. The difference between the two is theological, but public servants didn’t trouble themselves with such technicalities, because whether it was a bonus, a backpay, or reparations for emotional distress inflicted by the photocopier—it arrived in December.

And December, as we all know, is when most people suddenly realize the price of ham has tripled, the children have all developed “gift expectations,” and the neighbours have put up lights so bright, they threaten aviation safety. A little backpay went a long way.

But now, after years of this tradition—this ritual—this seasonal economic inhaler—the storyline has taken a dark turn. A twist. A plot development so shocking it could only have been written by a committee.

Because, suddenly, collective bargaining actually worked.

Yes, after decades of governments announcing wage increases with all the subtlety of a surprise slap, the union representing public servants finally achieved what unions are meant to do: negotiate. And in this negotiation lay the seed of public servants’ current existential crisis.

For 2025, the retroactive salary increase — usually held hostage until December like a Netflix season finale—was instead paid in July. July! The month best known for heat, mosquitoes, and people pretending they’re not waiting for Emancipation Day to really relax. The government, benevolent in its wisdom (or strategic in its election calendar—interpretation depends on your political blood pressure), decided that the workers should have their backpay early. Very early. Suspiciously early. I believe the Romans would have called it a donativum. We, however, call it what it is: an election sweetener.

Of course, nobody did a survey. No focus group. No consultation committee featuring representatives of Christmas Trees, Baking Flour, and Children Who Want Tablets. The money simply arrived in July—like rain during a wedding, or relatives during your staycation.

And now—here we are. December looms. And the treasury is as silent as a politician’s phone the day after elections.

Public servants, once accustomed to the sweet anticipation of the yuletide backpay, are now staring into the abyss of their December bank statements, realizing with horror that July money does not, psychologically or financially, count as Christmas money.

You can’t keep July money until December. That’s like saving chowmein for six months—technically possible, but you wouldn’t recommend it.

And so, begins the clamour.

Soft at first, like the rustle of wrapping paper. Now louder—like the wailing of a man who just realized VAT applies to toys. A rising call, echoing across offices, ministries, departments: “Cash grant! Cash grant! Cash grant!”

It is the chant of a people who have done the math and don’t like the results. Alas, government arithmetic has its own unique rhythm, and the odds of a cash grant materializing at this late stage is highly unlikely.

So, the nation’s public servants must accept the truth, painful though it is: their Christmas bonanza happened in July. This is like being told that Santa came early, used the key under the mat, left the presents, and forgot to text.

Now they must engage in creative financial improvisation. Side hustles. Selling pastries by the square inch. Charging neighbours for parking in front of their house. Offering “consulting services,” a phrase so broad it includes everything from proofreading resumes to diagnosing why someone’s WhatsApp isn’t working.

Whatever it takes.

Because while the retroactive increase has already been consumed by school supplies, utility bills, and that one impulsive purchase made during a mid-year existential crisis, December is still coming. Christmas is coming. And no amount of financial rationality will stop Guyanese Christmas from expecting the full production: pepperpot, presents, ponche-de-crème, and lights bright enough to tan the neighbour’s cat.

So yes, public servants may find themselves in a quandary—caught between tradition and timetables, between July generosity and December expectations.

But take heart. After all, the holidays are about resilience. Ingenuity. Creativity.
And, if all else fail… credit.

A timeless Guyanese tradition.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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• backpay, Christmas, Peeping Tom, Public Servant

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