Public servants pay should be in keeping with ‘new Guyana’ – DG Harmon

DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, August 7, 2019

“The government is very committed to ensuring public servants enjoy a quality of life that is consistent with us being a nation that is on the rise,” said Director-General (DG) of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon.

This comes as negotiations continue between the Coalition Government and the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) on the issue of public servants’ salaries, allowances, terms and conditions, according to the senior government official.

During a post-Cabinet press briefing, the DG revealed that often when there are discussions of work conditions and investing, there is a local factor to be considered. This, he explained, is “the quality of service which the public servants provide to the investors who have to interface with them… So, public servants are critical elements within the ‘new Guyana’ which we are developing”.

DG Harmon also reminded of the additional training for aspiring entrants and more seasoned professionals along with the provision of more conducive environments.

The Finance Minister, Hon. Winston Jordan recently hinted at increased salaries for public servants being catered for, in the 2020 National Budget. In the face of its ‘interim’ status, it is still the government’s hope to ensure public servants get their much-deserved increases in their salaries as has been done over the past four years under the Coalition administration.

The government was able to ink a three-year agreement, 2016-2018, with the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU). For 2018, increases in public servants’ salaries ranged from 7% to 0.5%. The government has also raised the minimum basic wage for each public servant to $64,200 per month. Minister Jordan reminded that:

“It took the PPP/C administration nine years to move the minimum wage by a similar percentage, or from $26,070 in 2006 to $39,570 in 2015. All workers can expect salary increases going forward, especially in 2018, 2019 and 2020.”