There has been no public reaction to date from the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) on government’s announcement last week of a 5% pay increase for public servants.
Several efforts by this newspaper to get a comment from GPSU president Patrick Yarde on the issue were unsuccessful even though a message was left with his secretary on the subject of the inquiry.
Public service employees and members of the disciplined services will receive a 5% retroactive pay hike for this year, the Government Information Agency (GINA) informed last Friday. It added that the increase will also be paid to all government pensioners and that instructions are currently being issued to relevant officials in the ministries to ensure that steps are taken to process the payout as soon as possible.
It was noted that teachers who were previously paid a 5% increase from January this year in accordance with their 2006-2010 multi-year agreement, will be paid an additional one percent in lieu of the performance incentive contemplated by that agreement, which is in its final year of implementation.
GINA stated that the decision by the government to award the 5% payment was taken against the backdrop of a year in which countries across the Caribbean and beyond have been confronting severe fiscal challenges. These challenges, GINA reported, have resulted in significant job losses in many jurisdictions, wage freezes, as well as voluntary wage cuts to save jobs.
In a statement on November 24, the GPSU expressed concern over what it saw as a delay by government in commencing negotiations on increases in wages/ salaries and allowances for public service workers, saying it was causing “severe discomfort” and had “incalculable implications” for them and the well-being of their families. The union had written the government, calling for “this issue to be addressed soonest to conclude the negotiations on this very important and sensitive matter.” It had also expressed concerns about “the erosion of the purchasing power of public employees in all agencies” and contended that “a matter of such fundamental importance should be addressed immediately to secure adequate increases in wages/salaries and allowances.”
GPSU stated that it had submitted a multi-year proposal (three years) on June 1, 2007 to the government for increases in wages/salaries for the years 2007-2009, but negotiations were never concluded. Again on September 9, 2009 proposals were submitted for increases for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012, the GPSU noted.
Last December, public servants received a 6% retroactive pay increase for that year and Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon indicated at the time that the payment of the increase was in keeping with the commitment of the PPP/C administration to increase the wages and salaries of public servants, despite the global financial crisis that affected the world.
That increase followed a 10% hike that was granted to public servants in 2008. This was issued in two parts—a 5 percent retroactive increase to January 1, 2008 was granted in May 2008 and another 5 percent increase retroactive to January 1, 2008 was granted in December 2008.
