Home News Salary increase cannot be viewed in isolation from other Govt measures –...
The salary increases announced for public servants this year, which stands at 6.5 per cent, must not be viewed in isolation from the menu of initiatives which have supported Guyanese throughout the year, Public Service Minister Sonia Parag has outlined.
More than 54,000 employees in the public sector stand to benefit from the 6.5 per cent increase announced by the Government last week.
As she delved into measures to raise the disposable income on Sunday, the Public Service Minister said the Government must address the welfare of citizens. As a result, the increase for 2023 is part of the bigger picture in their agenda.
“I think when you look at salary increases, you can’t look at it in isolation as to everything else that has been forthcoming from the Government. It’s not a favour from the Government. It is an obligation to take care of the welfare of the people and it is just that when you give salary increases, it is a specific category of persons. But it must not be considered in isolation of all the other measures.”
Among the menu of initiatives she outlined that support Guyanese families outside of increased wages are the “Because We Care” Cash Grant, the robust housing programme, one-off grants for public servants; and salary adjustments for the disciplined forces and healthcare workers.
This year, salary adjustments and allowances were also announced for graduate teachers.
The Public Service Minister also addressed statements from Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton castigating the one-off bonus for the Disciplined Services.
“When you look at 2015 to 2020, that Administration completely removed so you had zero per cent bonus to the Joint Services. So how can you now come and ridicule the Government for giving not only a salary increase, not only a one-off of $25,000 in 2023 but also the bonus given to the Joint Services restored and continuously given at every year,” she questioned.
She added, “You are making statements that I consider to be ridiculous and very untruthful because you knew you took away that bonus.”
According to Parag, when salary increases were given under the former Government between 2015 to 2020, it came in the wake of some 200 imposed taxes. Since the PPP/C Administration has reversed these taxes, the Minister reasoned that Guyanese can benefit greatly from increases.
“It was giving with one hand and taking back with the other at that same time. If you had taxes that caused an item to increase and you gave an increase in public service salary, there was no balance. There was no benefit really when you placed those taxes on public servants.”
Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh had outlined that the consequential salary adjustments would place an additional $7.5 billion in disposal income annually in the hands of these employees.
Public employees have received the following salary increases from the PPP Government since its return to office in August 2020: seven per cent in 2021, eight per cent in 2022, and now 6.5 per cent in 2023, for a total of 21.5 per cent over the last three years.
Additionally, the Government raised the income tax threshold from $65,000 to $75,000 in 2022 and then to $85,000 in 2023. It also reinstated the one-month tax-free bonus that was given to members of the Disciplined Services at the end of the year. (G-12)
