GT city workers to benefit from 8% retroactive wage, salary increase in 2025

– as GM&CC, GLGOU ink labour agreement

Georgetown municipal employees are set to receive long-overdue salary increases , after a groundbreaking wage agreement between the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) and the Guyana Local Government Officers Union (GLGOU) was finalised.
The move ensures an immediate boost in compensation for a large number of city workers, marking a victory for organised labour and municipal employees alike.
Under the terms of the newly signed Memorandum of Agreement, city employees would benefit from a 10 percent retroactive wage and salary increase for 2024; payment of which is due by March 31, 2025. And an 8 percent retroactive wage and salary increase for 2025 would take effect from January of this year; payment of which is due by July 31, 2025.

This agreement was signed in the presence of Chief Labour Officer Dhaneshwar Deonarine in the boardroom of the Ministry of Labour on Thursday. Among those present at the signing were Georgetown Mayor Alfred Mentore, Town Clerk Candace Nelson, and GLGOU President Kimberly Porter.
This wage increase follows persistent demands by the GLGOU, which had earlier pressed for an urgent meeting with the Town Clerk to resolve the issue of salary adjustment, and had warned that failure to address the matter would result in industrial action being taken by all workers under the GLGOU bargaining unit.
In a strongly worded letter, the union had criticized the prolonged delay in negotiations for the multi-year salary package covering 2023 to 2025, and had called it “unacceptable and disrespectful” to its members.
At various statutory meetings, Town Clerk Candace Nelson had acknowledged the longstanding nature of the issue, and had hinted that an amicable resolution was impending.
The new wage structure is expected to bring much-needed relief to city workers, who have long advocated for fair compensation. The agreement also underscores the role of collective bargaining in securing better wages and working conditions for employees.
As the city moves forward with this wage adjustment, municipal workers would now be looking towards implementation of the agreement and timely payment of the agreed sums.