President to announce adjustments to public sector salaries soon

Works are currently underway to address the review and adjustment of lower-level salary scales for public sector employees, with recommendations to be made to President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali by the end of this week.

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, in a statement on Thursday said the reviews are currently proceeding at an advanced pace.

“We anticipate that that work will be completed within a matter of days. I’m hoping in fact that we are able to complete that work by the end of this week with a view to recommendations being submitted to the President, and following His Excellency’s deliberations, and cabinet’s deliberations on those recommendations, we do expect that the President will be making an announcement very shortly in relation to public sector salaries,” he said.

The minister noted that the government is paying attention to specified categories of public sector employees, particularly salary scales that relate to entry-level positions, as President Ali highlighted earlier this week.

Dr Singh stated further that this is in keeping with the government’s continued commitment to improving the working conditions of public sector employees and all employees across Guyana.

“This is part of the work that we’re doing, particularly in relation to the lower banks of the salary scale in the public service and the public sector. That work is to be situated within the context of this broader agenda to improve incomes and improve the quality of life for all Guyanese.

“So, in summary, we are at an advanced stage of this work, we’re going to be making some recommendations to His Excellency the President, and… the expectation is that His Excellency the President will be making an announcement very shortly in relation to public sector salaries.”

Since assuming office in August of 2020, the PPP/C Government has implemented several measures to improve the conditions under which Guyanese work.

These include tax reversals on necessities, increased focus on occupational safety and health in the workplace and development policies to prioritise workers’ rights.

These are extended not only to Guyanese but to migrants as well.