Dear Editor,
As we approach the Christmas season, public servants are waiting with bated breath for the annual lotto results to be announced – aka annual wage increases, back pay or bonus.
Here are some numbers to ponder: – For a public servant earning the minimum wage of $70,000 to enjoy a single cash take home payment of $150,000, equivalent to what the fisher folks received earlier this month – they will need an 18% increase (payable retroactively from January, with no deductions for GRA or NIS contributions).
For the same minimum wage public servant to receive a single cash payout $250,000 as given to the sugar workers earlier this year, they will have to be granted a 30% wage increase for the twelve months of this year, again with no deductions.
For a public servant earning $100,000 to receive the same as his brothers and sisters in the fishing and sugar industries, he/she will have to receive retroactive wage increases with no deductions of 12.5% and 22.5% respectively.
Let us ponder the public servants who pay $40,000 rent, $5,000 water and light bills, transportation for a family of two paying $8,800 ($200 a day per person), we have $17,000 left for two persons to eat for the rest of the month. Using these conservative rates and a simple family of two, with no other bills included, at the current prices, this is a serious social issue.
No doubt that a Government that practices One Guyana policies, will view our public servants at the same level of need as our fisher folks and sugar workers and will ensure that this year’s wage increases will see all our hard-working citizens receives equal compensation for their efforts and moreso a livable wage in the fastest growing economy in this hemisphere.
Sincerely,
David Patterson
