Updated: President announces increases in salaries, allowances for public servants

Last Updated on Tuesday, 10 December 2024, 20:28 by Writer

President Irfaan Ali addressing a Police Officers’ breakfast at the Officers’ Mess, Eve Leary.

President Irfaan Ali on Tuesday announced that the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) and the government signed a two-year wages and salaries agreement that would see them benefitting from a 10 percent pay hike for 2024 and eight percent next year.

“This 10 percent increase in salary, which is retroactive to 1st of January 2024, would amount to 35 percent of accumulated salary increase over the last four years,” he said in an address to a breakfast with officers of the Guyana Police Force.

Additionally, he announced an adjustment in salary scales as well as an increase in several allowances, including those for uniform, travel and qualifications, and duty free concessions for nurses.

In the area of salary scales, he said that from July 1, 2024, “in order to address salary disparities”, public servants on GS1 to GS6 salary scale with a minimum of four years of service within the current scale would be moved resulting in an increase of as much as 13 percent for some public servants; public servants on GS1 to G6 with a minimum of eight years of service within their current scale would go to the maximum of that scale resulting in an increase of as much as 26 percent for some employees, and public servants at the minimum of GS7 to GS8 with four years in that scale would get as much as 11 percent.

From January 1, 2025, the President said monthly qualification allowances would be introduced for persons who pursued studies successfully while on the job. He said holders of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualifications would receive an additional GY$15,000, master’s degree, GY$22,000, and doctorates, GY$32,000. “This is in keeping with our commitment of incentivising education, incentivising training and the development of our human capital,” he said.

Dr Ali said eligible categories of health workers would get a GY$5,000 annual increase in uniform allowances and GY$10,000 for public servants. There would also be a monthly housing allowance of GY$35,000 for public servants on secondment to hinterland locations from January 1, 2025. Also, there would be an GY$8,000 station (300 percent increase) allowance for public servants serving in certain riverain and hinterland areas. He said there would be a 50 percent increase in risk allowance, and a 104 percent increase in motor car and travel allowances.

The President said government would grant 100 duty-free concessions annually for staff nurses and above, with “priority given to persons with the longest years of service and those who have never benefitted from a duty-free concession.” “This would ensure that the criteria for those who are granted the duty-free also serve the time which is five years and three years so it is an incentive for the retention of our nurses also,” he said.

“From this announcement, you can see this government’s commitment to every category of people of our country is unquestionable,” he said.