Finance Minister Winston Jordan has upped the ante for differentiated wage increases for public servants as opposed to the customary across-the-board hike.
In an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA) released yesterday he argued that across-the-board increases for public servants cannot be a solution on public service wages.
President David Granger had also made this point. In May, while receiving the Commission of Inquiry (COI) report into the public service, he had expressed the hope that the COI Report will be a launch pad for differentiated emoluments for workers …”where performance of individuals is related to promotion and pay… if they work hard they will be rewarded… if they want to be lazy, they will get a lazy person salary”.
The government and the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) are currently locked in wage talks. The GPSU had previously expressed concern about the proposal for differentiated pay.
Jordan said in the GINA interview yesterday that government’s offer will be in workers’ best interest, since there will be a higher degree of certainty for increases based on an annual confidential report among other benefits.
“It’s about wages, allowances, merit increment and also de-bunching, so some people will end up getting even more because to de-bunch you may have to give one increment or two increments. It’s an entire package,” Jordan said.
He charged that across-the-board payments for public sector employees contributes to the blurring of salary scales and widens the gap in public sector wages and salaries, Minister Jordan said.
“The union asked for across- the-board (increases), we said we are not going down that road. I don’t know whether the union has accepted it or not. What I’m saying is that across- the- board has widened the divide, it has literally destroyed scales and all these things. I give you 40 percent across the board, you are earning $1M, the increase is $400,000. I give you the same percent increase, you are earning $100,000, how much is the increase? Look at the gap,” Jordan asserted.
Jordan added, “We have also offered to look at the allowances as soon as we are finished with the salary negotiations. We have already named our members for the allowances’ committee, we have also offered to look at merit increment”.
Meanwhile, GINA said that Jordan pointed out that the minimum wage of $35,000 per month set for the private sector some three years ago was intended to protect workers from exploitation and the time has come for the revision of that minimum wage since in the public sector the minimum wage is now $50,000 per month.
Jordan, however, added that it is important that government takes care in establishing minimum and other levels of wages and salaries because there are far-reaching consequences attached to them .
“I agree with all the unions and so on to make a big pitch for their workers, but at the same time policymakers have to be wary of what it would do to the broader macro-economic fundamentals of the country, especially competitiveness, and its impact on inflation and exchange rate deterioration. All of that could retard growth and at the end of the day, instead of promoting welfare, it can reduce welfare of the citizens,” Jordan said.
In relation to reports of underpayment in some departments in the public sector, among them the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs), the Minister said this is contrary to the law and must be addressed since especially in the case of the NDCs “… each one gets a transfer and I would think it should be at least enough for them to pay the minimum wage.”
The Minister further advised that wherever the minimum public sector wage is not being paid to public sector employees an approach should be made to the Department of Labour.
