Public service workers to receive another 5 percent wage/salary
Public servants can expect another five percent increase on wages and salaries as
Last year’s public service protested lasted until the Christmas holiday stepped in.
the Office of the President has announced their intent to give increases of five to eight percent.
More than 20,000 public workers and members of the Disciplined Forces will receive the increases as at December 31, last year and retroactive January 1, 2014 a public missive from the President’s office mentioned.
The release stated, “In keeping with the Government of Guyana’s commitment to provide these increases, Public Servants and Members of the Disciplined Forces earning above $50,000 monthly wages and salaries as of December 31, 2013 are being granted an across the board increase of five percent.
“Those earning less than $50,000 monthly as at December 31, 2013 would be receiving eight percent across the board increase, retroactive to January 1, 2014.”
The notice continued that additionally, “teachers earning less than $50,000 monthly as at December 31, 2013 are being granted an additional three percent across the board increase, on top of the five percent increase already paid to them in keeping with the multi-year agreement concluded with their Union, bringing their total increase to eight percent retroactive to January 1, 2014.”
It was stated that circulars have already been issued to effect the payment of these increases on the wages and salaries for 2014.
Around this time last year, public servants had mounted countrywide protests against the usual five percent wage and salaries increase imposed on the public workers. The unusually ineffective Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) has for years been complaining against the government bypassing negotiations and going ahead to public workers meager increases.
Public workers from many of state agencies had downed their tools and demanded more from the government who remained unmoved by the massive demonstrations.
Around this time last year, the GPSU had also demanded a paper trail of the monies allocated for public servants’ increases, but that never manifested.
When it was raised in Parliament last year that more than $4B had been allocated for increases of public servants, but meager increases were being imposed on the workers, GPSU took action to request of the Government of Guyana pertinent details of expenditure under the Account Code entitled “Revision of Wages and Salaries” for which $4.4 billion were provided and from the Permanent Secretary, Public Service Ministry, for information related to the payment of all contract employees in the Public Service that are paid from allocations approved in the Estimates of the Public Sector-Current and Capital Revenue and Expenditure for 2013.”
GPSU is still to get that information.
