Government’s insensitivity to the plight of public sector workers, pensioners and the destitute is visible in the reality that only 1.7 percent of this year’s $781.9 billion budget directly affords them any relief, according to the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU).
In a press release issued on Friday, the GPSU suggested that issues concerning the alleviation of poverty should encompass no less than 25 per cent of the country’s annual budgets and this should include components that provide a living minimum wage to public sector workers. Consi-dering the current cost of living and the suffering endured by workers over the ages, a living wage in Guyana “should not be less than $200,000,” the GPSU said.