Govt.’s 10 percent increase for Public Servants can be sustained – Finance Minister

Sep 17, 2016, News, http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....ed-finance-minister/

While Government may desire to pay Public Servants a rather generous wage increase, Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, said, yesterday, that at the end of the day, it has to be pragmatic. He insists that Government has to make increases that can be sustained. The current 10 percent offer on the table he says, is the embodiment of that principle.

The economist was meeting with the press yesterday at his Main Street Office. He was asked to say what impact the proposed increase would have on his wage bill. The Finance Minister noted however, that he was not in a position to provide hard figures to that effect.

The Finance Minister said that the “final offer” to the public servants is based on Government’s projections of incoming revenues.

Jordan took the opportunity to address certain aspersions being spread by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo.

He recalled that the former President had said that Government is in a position to pay the public servants more than the proposed 10 percent increase. Jagdeo made this assertion on the basis that when the APNU+AFC Party came to power, it combed through various systems and found a number of accounts which held millions of dollars.

Jordan said that indeed those monies have been transferred to the Consolidated Fund. He revealed, too, that some of the monies were used to make the “one-off” payments to public servants toward the end of last year. That one-off pay hike could not have been sustained.

The Finance Minister said, “Suppose you employ someone and you are making $50 annually. While you were away, the person spots your bank account and found $200. They now say ‘Listen, I know you can pay me ok. So that 10 percent increase you paying me, I don’t want it. I want 50 percent.’

“Now let’s say after all that you are forced to pay the individual that 50 percent increase, how will you sustain that in the future?”

Jordan said that citizens must understand that every increase that Government makes is one that has to be seen as not only being paid for today but for the next year and beyond that.

The Finance Minister stressed that sustainable payments which have implications for pensions and so forth have to come from growth in revenues.

Jordan said, “We recognize that public servants need the kind of payment that is being bandied about, but that can only happen if the cake grows larger and larger.” (KIANA WILBURG)

The Finance Minister said, “Suppose you employ someone and you are making $50 annually. While you were away, the person spots your bank account and found $200. They now say ‘Listen, I know you can pay me ok. So that 10 percent increase you paying me, I don’t want it. I want 50 percent.’

“Now let’s say after all that you are forced to pay the individual that 50 percent increase, how will you sustain that in the future?”

Govt.’s 10 percent increase for Public Servants can be sustained – Finance Minister, Sep 17, 2016, News, http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....ed-finance-minister/

But, the current government recently paid the president, ministers, etc., HUGE INCREASES in salary; perhaps 50 percent or more.

HEHEHEHE  Only a year ago the SHIT HEADS PNC and Uncle Tom was calling for 50% increase and threatening Mo Fiah Slo Fiah. The PNC supporters in Guyana and here on GNI must take the Title of SHIT HEADS as a compliment, it is certainly WORST!!!!!

Demerara_Guy posted:

 

But, the current government recently paid the president, ministers, etc., HUGE INCREASES in salary; perhaps 50 percent or more.

While we all agree that the 50% pay increase was wrong simple mathematics will inform you that paying 30 people this pay increase has less impact than paying thousands of people 10%.

What is wrong with the 50% wasn't that it couldn't be supported on a sustainable basis.  It was the fact that a 20% increase for public servants couldn't be sustained.  So it was immoral, as well as jut bad PR for the best paid people to be awarded pay increases way in excess of others.

caribny posted:

Demerara_Guy posted:

But, the current government recently paid the president, ministers, etc., HUGE INCREASES in salary; perhaps 50 percent or more.

While we all agree that the 50% pay increase was wrong simple mathematics will inform you that paying 30 people this pay increase has less impact than paying thousands of people 10%.

What is wrong with the 50% wasn't that it couldn't be supported on a sustainable basis.  It was the fact that a 20% increase for public servants couldn't be sustained.  So it was immoral, as well as jut bad PR for the best paid people to be awarded pay increases way in excess of others.

1. Agree that paying 50% to the president, etc., is wrong.

2. The president and ministers should have set an example by not getting such exorbitant increases in salary, housing, plus other benefits.

3. It simply shows that PNC/AFC officials, perhaps, think only of their gains and benefits rather than those for the citizens.