Govt workers to receive 8% salary hike with July pay; increase retroactive to Jan 1

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and the Public Service, Dr Ashni Singh, on Friday confirmed that all public servants, including teachers, members of the disciplined services, constitutional office holders, and Government pensioners, will receive the previously announced 8% salary increase with their July 2025 salaries. The increase will be retroactive to January 1, 2025.
“This increase will be paid together with July salaries,” Dr Singh stated, reaffirming the Government’s commitment to honouring the terms of a two-year agreement signed with the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) in December 2024.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had on Thursday assured that the 2025 salary hike would be implemented before the September 1 General and Regional Elections. “It’s going to be before [September]… It doesn’t make sense; you pay the public servants after,” Jagdeo remarked during a press conference on Thursday, adding that systems were already being put in place to facilitate the disbursement.
The eight per cent increase forms part of a broader two-year agreement between the Government and the GPSU, which included a 10% retroactive salary adjustment in 2024. That deal, reached after months of negotiations, has been lauded by the GPSU as a milestone in improving public sector relations. In a statement marking its 102nd anniversary, the union credited the Government—particularly Minister Singh—for fostering a more “respectful and constructive” engagement.
Between 2021 and 2025, public servants have benefitted from cumulative salary increases totalling 46%, with annual adjustments of 7% in 2021, 8% in 2022, and 6.5% in 2023 preceding this year’s increment.
Beyond salary increases, the Government has rolled out several structural adjustments aimed at improving long-term compensation and working conditions. Among them, public servants in Grades 1 to 6 with four years of service were moved to the midpoint of their salary scales, increasing earnings by up to 13%; those in the same grades with eight or more years of service were moved to the maximum of their scales, earning increases of up to 26%; and workers in Grades 7 to 8 with at least four years in their current scale now receive an additional monthly payment equivalent to the difference between the minimum and midpoint of Grade 6—amounting to increases of up to 11%.
Incentives have also been introduced to promote professional development, including new qualification allowances effective January 1, 2025. Public servants on secondment now receive a $35,000 monthly housing allowance, and other benefits such as risk, travel, and motor car allowances have also been revised upward.
The Government has similarly engaged other key stakeholders in the education and academic sectors. A separate three-year agreement with the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) stipulates a salary increase of 10% for 2024, 8% for 2025, and 9% for 2026, with an adjustable clause to match any higher general public service increases. A parallel agreement was reached with the University of Guyana Senior Staff Association (UGSSA), reflecting identical terms.
Minister Singh has described 2024 as a landmark year in public sector industrial relations, citing historic multi-year agreements as evidence of the administration’s commitment to improving wages and conditions across the board.
President Irfaan Ali, while addressing members of the Guyana Police Force in December 2024, also underscored the Government’s continued focus on investing in the wellbeing of its workforce, including enhanced housing and risk allowances for the Disciplined Services.