President Irfaan Ali yesterday announced an eight percent across-the-board pay increase retroactive to January 1st 2022 for public servants, teachers and members of the Disciplined Services and he also signalled further adjustments to the emoluments of specific categories of workers.
In an address to the nation, Ali said: “…my Government will be paying an across-the-board increase of eight (8) percent to public servants, teachers, members of the disciplined services, constitutional office holders, as well as Government pensioners. This increase will be granted retroactively to 1 January 2022”.
He also telegraphed further improvements for certain categories of workers including policemen and health care workers.
“…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”, the President said.
The announcement constituted the third year in a row that the PPP/C government has unilaterally announced wage increases for public servants without entering into collective bargaining with their union. This ignoring of the union is a breach of the collective labour agreement between the employer and the union. While it has spoken out against this, the main bargaining agent for the public servants, the Guyana Public Service Union has treated the annual announcements as a fait accompli.
Ali said that work will start immediately to ensure that this increase is processed and paid to eligible employees together with their December salary.
In his introduction to the announcement, Ali said that Budget 2022, which was presented in Parliament by the Finance Minister on behalf of the Government on 26 January 2022, included financial provisions to meet the cost of a public service salary increase for 2022. This fact, he said, has been frequently reiterated by several members of the Government over the course of the year since the enactment of Budget 2022.
The President did not however explain why the announcement of the increase was made in November when it had been provided for since January this year. Members of the public have complained that the cost of living has skyrocketed this year due to imported inflation, higher international fuel prices and supply chain issues among other factors.
Ali said that the commitment to pay an increase this year came against the backdrop of other measures implemented since the PPP/C assumed office in August 2020, all with the aim of improving disposable incomes to public sector employees and Guyanese at large. He said that these measures include:
1. The payment of a 7 percent across-the-board increase in 2021;
2. The restoration of the one-month tax-free year-end bonuses to the disciplined services totalling more than $1 billion per annum;
3. 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;
4. 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;
5. 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 school children; and
6. 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.
He said that these and other similar measures augmented the many other steps taken by the PPP/C Government to remove the “punitive” taxes that had been imposed by the former APNU+AFC government on electricity, water, medical and educational supplies, basic household necessities, and basic construction materials.
“Additionally, my 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”, Ali added.
He said that his government continues to value highly the “hard work that Government employees do every day in delivering services to the People of Guyana”.
He added that his Government “remains resolutely committed to ensuring that the lives of all Guyanese are improved steadily, and in a tangible and demonstrable manner, as we work towards realising national prosperity for the benefit of All Guyanese”.
