Public servants already enjoying GPSU’s negotiated salary increase – Jagdeo

…says 2025 8% salary increase already in effect

Vice President (VP) Dr Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday reminded public servants that they are already benefitting from salary increases through the collective bargaining agreement with the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), while emphasising that an eight per cent salary increase for 2025 is already in effect.
Speaking during his weekly press conference, Jagdeo dismissed claims that wage increases were overlooked in President Irfaan Ali’s recent national address, noting that matters relating to salaries are traditionally addressed during the annual budget presentation.
He noted that retroactive payments for 2024 were paid earlier in the year, rather than at Christmas, due to a negotiated arrangement with the union.
“Wages, public service, salary, all of that will either be negotiated with the unions, I know through collective bargaining, but there will be budgetary provisions next year. The President didn’t need to announce that now. That will be in the budget for salary increases for next year. Some people said, What about the retroactive? But they collected, you know, the annual salary thing, because we had, normally, if you don’t reach agreement with the union, you will collect the whole year’s increase at Christmas time,” the VP said.
Jagdeo reminded that public servants are already benefiting from negotiated increases under a landmark two-year agreement signed between the Government of Guyana and the GPSU in December 2024.
Under that agreement, public servants received a retroactive 10 per cent salary increase effective January 1, 2024, followed by a further eight per cent increase in 2025. Meanwhile, in the GPSU agreement, public servants in Grades One to Six with a minimum of four years of service were moved to the midpoint of their current scale, resulting in salary increases of up to 13 per cent for some employees. Those with a minimum of eight years of service within Grades One to Six were moved to the maximum of their scale, leading to salary increases of up to 26 per cent.
Additionally, public servants in Grades Seven to Eight with at least four years of service in their current scale were eligible for an additional monthly amount equivalent to the nominal difference between the minimum and midpoint of Grade Six, providing increases of up to 11 per cent.
Jagdeo also pointed out that these adjustments bring the cumulative salary increase for public servants to approximately 35 per cent over the past four years, underscoring the Government’s sustained approach to improving public sector compensation.
“So, people started collecting their payment for this year earlier in the year. So they got, and I think it was July or so, June, July, they got the retroactivity up to January. But that will be in the budget. So, there was no need to announce that,” he added.

Not a substitute for income
Turning to the Government’s recently announced $100,000 cash grant, Jagdeo cautioned against framing the initiative as a replacement for wages or a standalone economic solution.
He pushed back strongly against opposition criticism surrounding the timing and size of the grant, describing such attacks as politically motivated and lacking substance. Jagdeo stressed that the administration is focused on delivery and long-term planning, rather than daily political disputes.
“Cash grants should help supplement what you have… You don’t manage a country for cash grants alone… We are not going to be engaged in a daily fight over issues,” he said. “What we have done in the last three months in terms of conceptualisation, planning, and starting to implement would take them a decade.”
The VP noted that the $100,000 cash grant represents a massive fiscal commitment, amounting to approximately $63 billion, more than Guyana’s entire current revenue when he began his second term as President.
“That is the magnitude of it,” he said, adding that similar programmes in other countries have been scaled back or discontinued.
Further, Jagdeo clarified that the cash grant was never promised for immediate distribution before Christmas and that no budgetary provision currently exists, which would require parliamentary approval.
Against this backdrop, the VP emphasised that the Government’s economic strategy goes far beyond cash transfers, pointing to massive investments planned over the next five years in housing, healthcare, education, pensions, and public assistance.
“We’re going to spend over $800 billion on housing,” Jagdeo said. “That will change multiple lives – hundreds of thousands of families.”
He added that increases are also planned for children’s grants, pensioners, public assistance recipients, and wages and salaries, reinforcing that cash grants are only one part of a broader development framework.
“We’re in office until 2031,” he said. “The people will get help – all of the people. But you have to earn too. Cash grants are meant to support, not replace, the work of building a strong and resilient economy.”