…as minimum wage increases to $130,000
With the aim of levelling the playing field among the various agencies within the Joint Services, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Dr Irfaan Ali, has announced the increase of the minimum wage for junior ranks and officers to $130,000.
He made this announcement on Wednesday at the commissioning of the Guyana Fire Service’s new Headquarters and the handing over of 40 Rapid Intervention Vehicles (RIV) to the GFS.
Currently, the salary of junior ranks such as constables and privates in some agencies differs, ranging between $105,000 and $130,000. According to the Head of State, this adjustment would fix the salary scale across the board, ensuring equity among the junior members of the Joint Services.
“There were some anomalies that had to be addressed, one of which was the difference in the basic salary of ranks at the lowest level – that’s the level of constable… I’ve spoken to the Minister of Finance and I’ve asked that he ensure that every rank in the Joint Services that is at the Constable level be paid a minimum salary of $130,000, so that there is consistency…
We [now] have equity across the scale,” the President said.
“We have your best interest at heart because we ask for your best, too. We ask you to give of your best to our country…and the country will invest in you,” the Commander in Chief has posited.
This move to level the playing field for junior officers comes on the heels of efforts by the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government to adjust, in a phased approach, the salaries payable to selected categories of public servants, such as members of the disciplined services.
In fact, President Ali, back in November 2022, had rolled out the first phase of salary adjustments for Joint Services members, including officers within the Guyana Fire Service. That had seen firemen and firewomen with five to 10 years’ experience getting $110,000 – a 7.3 per cent increase from the $102,488 being paid. Those fire officers with more than 10 years of experience were given a salary increase of no less than $115,000.
Leading Firemen/Firewomen were also given an increase of $130,000. This represents an additional 6.3 per cent hike from the previous $122,241 minimum salary.
With regard to the Guyana Police Force, Constables have received salary adjusted in 2022 upwards from $94,907 to $102,488, representing an eight per cent increase on the current minimum salary paid to this rank level.
Further, Constables with five to 10 years of experience were given a pay hike of no less than $110,000, and those with more than 10 years’ experience got $115,000, which in some instances is almost a $19,000 increase.
Meanwhile, in the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), recruits’ minimum salary was adjusted upwards from $94,485 to $100,000, representing a 5.8 per cent increase.
Privates also benefitted from an 8.1 per cent pay hike, moving their salary from $94,771 to $102,488; while Privates with five to 10 years of experience have had their salaries raised to $110,000, and those with more than 10 years got $115,000.
Joint Services members have since been benefitting from reintroduction of the year-end one-month bonus along with the across-the-board annual salary increase for all public servants.
During its time in office, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Coalition Government had taken away the one-month tax-free bonus from the Joint Services. In December, President Ali had disclosed that in addition to the 10 per cent salary increase for all public servants, the Disciplined Services also benefitted from a one-month annual bonus – a $1.6 billion injection that would be added to their monthly salary as well as the $100,000 cash grant. (G8)
