BREAKING: GPSU, gov’t to ink agreement for increased wages, salaries

Last Updated on Monday, 9 December 2024, 20:56 by Writer

Public servants are expected to get an increase in wages and salaries as part of a two-year agreement between government and the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), a well-placed source said Monday.

While the government s0urce declined to say whether the accord is expected to provide for a double digit pay hike, a GPSU official said union negotiators were at one stage contemplating a 25 percent increase but might settle for 10 percent.

The pay increase agreement is expected to be signed before year-end, and would mark the end of two weeks of negotiations between the GPSU and government.

Negotiators also benefitted from inputs from a senior representative of the Bureau of Statistics about the basket of goods.

The GPSU had earlier this year again threatened to take industrial action if government continued to refuse to engage in collective bargaining. The union had taken the government to court for violating the 1978 Agreement for the Avoidance and Settlement of Disputes, Guyana’s Constitution and International Labour Organisation conventions.

Earlier this year, the Guyana Teachers’ Union and the Ministry of Education signed a three-year agreement to provide for salary increases of 10% for 2024, 8% for 2025 and 9% for 2026 in addition to a series of other benefits. That agreement also provides for teachers to get additional salary increases if public servants are paid more than the agreed percentages.