GPSU rejects 6% salary increase for public servants

… agrees to consider Govt’s revised 10% proposal

The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) has outrightly rejected a proposed 6 per cent increase in public servants wages and salaries for 2016, but has agreed to consider a subsequent proposal for a 10 per cent increase for persons earning below $99,000 per month.
Government on Wednesday evening issued a public statement to this effect, and reiterated that its “proposal took into consideration the fundamental need for a restructured Public Service which included the adjustment of scales for wages and salaries; the implementation of a merit increment system; and a resolution of the issue of bunching.”
According to the missive released by Reginald Brotherson, head of the Government’s negotiating team, “GPSU agreed to consider the Government’s final offer and indicated that a response will be forthcoming after a meeting of its General Council.”
The two month long collective bargaining process concluded yesterday without a definite agreement in place, leaving the door open to a unilateral increases by government should the unions continue to reject the proposals.
The negotiations were conducted within a two month period from June 22, 2016 to August 24, 2016.
The initial proposal of the GPSU was for a 40 per cent across the board increase for public servants, but this was subsequently adjusted to 25 per cent. The Union had also demanded that allowances be included in the negotiations.
Government responded by proposing that persons earning less than $100,000 be paid a 5.5 per cent increase while persons earning above $1M would only get a 1 per cent increase.
The proposed 5.5 per cent offer was later increased to 6 per cent by Government, but this too was rejected by the union.
According to Brotherson, the Government re-considered its position and a final offer was presented. This proposal by government, if accepted by the union, will see public servants earning below $99,000 getting a 10 per cent increase with the rate incrementally decreasing to a one per cent increase for those earning in excess of $1M.
Brotherson, in his public missive on Wednesday, sought to stress that “It was pointed out to the GPSU that the GOG’s final offer for wages and salaries increases for Public Servants had taken into consideration the current socio-economic environment; the difficulty in agreeing to increases that would entail having to raise additional revenue and the unsustainability of any further addition to its offer with regard to the current and future budgets.”
He said too that Government reiterated to the Union that its members were also the Government’s employees and that the Government was equally mindful of the need for financial relief for the workers under consideration.