The Disciplined Services minimum salary has been increased to $130,000 per month President Irfaan Ali yesterday announced, a move he believes will bring equity to the salary structure of this sector of workers.
“We have to ensure we have the right human resource skill set and mix, and we’ve been investing in that. We have had an adjustment to the scale of firefighters and officers and ranks in the joint services…” Ali yesterday said while delivering the feature address at the handing over ceremony of 40 rapid intervention vehicles and commissioning of the Guyana Fire Service Headquarters on Homestretch Avenue in Georgetown.
“In the adjustment, there were some anomalies that had to be addressed, one of which was the difference in the basic salary of ranks of the lowest level. That’s the level of constable. I think it was $130,000 in some agencies, and it was $105,000 to $110,000 in some agencies. So I’ve spoken to the Minister of Finance, and I’ve asked that he ensure that every rank in the joint services; that is at the constable level, that every rank, be paid a minimum salary of $130,000 so that there is consistency,” he added.
The President noted that in that way, where there are “constables in the police force, in the fire service, and you have privates who are at $105k and $110k, they will be adjusted to $130k, and so we have equity across the scale.”
And in return, Ali asked that the men and women of the Disciplined Services give their best and know that his government has their “best interest at heart, because we ask for your best too.”
“We ask you to give up your best to our country, and the country would invest in you,” he said.
It is not the first time that Ali has adjusted the salaries of Disciplined Services personnel. In 2022, Ali had announced increases in minimum salaries, in addition to the eight per cent across-the-board increase he had given to public servants for 2023.
“These revisions to the salaries of the members of the Disciplined Services will benefit an estimated 8,000 persons and will increase the disposable income of our men and women in uniform by over $1 billion annually,” Ali had then announced.
He had explained that among the factors taken into consideration in determining the adjustments was the need to resolve anomalies and disparities across the various services.
“We were also mindful of the need to ensure that we improve our competitiveness, particularly at the entry level so that our Disciplined Services continue to be an attractive employment prospect for our young men and women.”
The President had also urged members of the Disciplined Services to honour the adjustments and to deliver “better service” to citizens.
“We expect you to honour these adjustments with dignity, with hard work, with accountability, with transparency and we expect you to perform at all times at the highest level. We expect you to deliver a better service to the people of our country. Things will only get better, our country and conditions under which you live will only get better. I assure you of this,” he asserted.