A hike of 10% retroactive salary for the public servants of Guyana has brought cheers to a large number of government employees.
The salary hike was announced by President Irfaan Ali on Tuesday while addressing the Guyana Police Force during an officers’ breakfast at the Officers’ Mess, Eve Leary.
Speaking at the breakfast, the President said while the 10% hike will be given to the public servants from January 1, 2024, the government has also decided to increase the salary of public servants by 8% in 2025.
It is to be mentioned that the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) had been pitching for higher salaries for the last couple of years, and the announcement made by the President is an outcome of prolonged negotiations held between the union and the government.
The President said, “This 10 per cent increase in salary, which is retroactive from 1st January 2024, will amount to a 35 per cent cumulative salary increase over the last four years,” adding, “further, we’ve also decided to increase the salary by 8% in the upcoming year.”
The government will now be working on various pay scale adjustments during the next year, which will ensure that public servants receive more money compared to previous years.
The government is also planning to introduce allowances from January 1, 2025, under which qualified individuals from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) will also get a monthly allowance of GUY$15,000.
Besides, persons with a Master’s Degree will get GUY$22,000 monthly, while those with a doctoral degree will receive a monthly allowance of GUY$32,000.
President Ali said that these allowances will help individuals invest in the education of their children. This will enable the country to have trained human resources, which will further help improve the economic standing of the nation.
The President said that it has also been decided to increase the housing and risk allowances of the disciplined forces.
The government has also opened its coffers for health workers, who have been given an annual increase in uniform allowance of GUY$5,000, while the public servants will get GUY$10,000 for their uniforms.
In case the public servants are sent on secondment transfer to hinterlands within the nation, then they will get a housing allowance of GUY$35,000 from January 1, 2025.
Meanwhile, public servants serving in riverain and hinterland areas will get a station allowance of GUY$8,000. Besides, their risk allowance is also being increased by 50%, and a 104% increase has been agreed upon for motor car and travel allowances.
The President said to provide the much-needed relief to staff nurses, it has been decided to grant 100 duty-free concessions annually. For this, priority will be given to individuals who have been in service for the longest years and have never received duty-free concessions. The President said that this is an incentive the government is granting to ensure the retention of nurses.
