$50,000 tax-free bonus for public servants

– Opposition Leader welcomes decision

Public Sector workers earning less than $500,000 per month will be benefiting from a tax-free payment of $50,000 as a

Finance Minister Winston Jordan

Christmas bonus.
Some 30,700 persons, including nurses, teachers, members of the Disciplined Services and semi-autonomous agencies, will benefit from this initiative, which will cost the Government over $1.5 billion.
According to a press release from the Finance Ministry, the payment will be effected in December.
Former President and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, in a media statement shortly after Government made this announcement, said he was very happy that public servants would be receiving the well-deserved bonus.
Given that public servants in 2015 did not benefit from salary increases that were retroactive to January 1 of the year, Jagdeo noted that the Christmas bonus would serve them well.
He, however, questioned the Government’s intention behind this initiative, pointing out that when the new Administration assumed office, it declared that the country was bankrupt. “Yet $1.54 billion was found to pay public servants,” he stated.
Additionally, Jagdeo said he was extremely disappointed that the sugar workers and rice farmers, who contribute significantly to the growth of the economy, have been once again neglected by the Government.
Also, from an analytical perspective, Jagdeo indicated that the Christmas bonuses would not be of much significance to households because of several adjustments to support measures.
“The measures of support announced by the Administration when matched against other actions taken leaves Guyanese worse off in a net sense.  While some public servants will benefit from the $50,000 bonus, Guyanese have seen the removal of the $1.67 billion cash grant for all public school children, the removal of electricity and water subsidies for pensioners and the removal of other support measures – all aimed at improving the livelihoods of our people,” he stated.
Notably, in the seven months since the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration took office, public servants earning over $50,000 received a 15-16 per cent salary increase while those on the lower end of the scale received a higher percentage increase.
Additionally, the basic salary was increased by roughly $8000.
Also, in those seven months, the APNU/AFC Administration awarded itself a 50 per cent salary increase – much to the condemnation of the general public. Moreover, the Administration increased several benefits and made adjustments to several structures that saw Government officials being entitled to greater sums of money than during the previous Administration.
Meanwhile, Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) First Vice President Mortimer Livan, in an invited comment, said that public servants deserve an adequate increase which would see the minimum wage hovering around $124,000.
During the campaign trail, the APNU/AFC coalition had promised to provide a 20 per cent salary increase for all public servants within 100 days of assumption to office. This was not achieved.
Against this backdrop and compounded by the public’s outcry over the 50 per cent ministerial salary increase, Government made another promise to further increase the Public Sector workers’ salaries.
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo had explained that Government could not afford to deal with public servants’ increases at this point in time and the situation would be addressed later.