Guyana President Ali announces salary increase for public servants

Guyanese President Irfaan Ali on Tuesday, December 10, declared that all public servants of the country will get a 10 percent retroactive salary increase for 2024 and an eight percent rise in 2025.

Ali, who was addressing the Guyana Police Force’s traditional Christmas breakfast at the Police Officers’ Mess in Eve Leary in Georgetown, added that people with academic qualifications would also gain financially as of next January.

The president said the salary hikes resulted from talks between the government and the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU). 

“This 10 per cent increase in salary, which is retroactive from 1st January 2024, will amount to 35 per cent cumulative salary increase over the last four years,” Ali said. “We’ve been able to bring to the union that 2025 will see an increase in the salary of public servants of eight per cent,” he informed. 

Guyana to adjust salary scales

The president also said that starting next year, the government will zero in on adjusting various salary scales to ensure that the employees’ monthly take-home is more.  

Public servants who are on scales 1-6 and have at least four years of service experience in their current scale will be pushed to the mid-point of that scale. This will increase salaries by up to 13 per cent for some workers. This adjustment will take effect from last July.

Workers on GS 1-6 with a minimum of eight years of experience in the current scale will find themselves to the maximum under the adjustments, resulting in a rise of as much as 26 per cent for some employees. 

In his address, Ali also mentioned quality incentives effective from January. Public servants having Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualifications will get a monthly payment of GUY$15,000, while those with Master’s degrees will be paid an additional GUY$22,000 and Doctoral degrees an additional GUY$32,000. 

The president said eligible health workers would be given an annual hike of GUY$5,000 in uniform allowances. Public servants will also get a monthly housing allowance of GUY$35,000 on secondment transfer to hinterland locations effective on the first day of 2025. Additionally, GUY$8,000 station allowance will be given to public servants serving in certain riverain and hinterland areas.

The government employees will also get increased car and travel allowances, Ali added.   

Soon after the top leader’s announcement, the Guyanese government and GPSU signed a two-year accord over the salary increase. GPSU’s First Vice President Dawn Gardener, who led the union term in the talks, welcomed the agreement and said it was a well-timed development in the era of industrial relations in the public service, said one report. President Ali also appreciated the efforts and said the agreement was the first the GPSU entered with any government in recent past. 

The Guyanese government issued a statement on the matter in which, among other details, it said the University of Guyana Workers’ Union and the University of Guyana Senior Staff Association inked a three-year agreement which delivers 10 per cent salary rise in 2024, eight per cent in 2025, and nine per cent in 2026, ensuring parity with agreements concluded with Guyana Teachers Union.

The announcement made by Ali was received mixed reactions. While many netizens praised the president for prioritizing the citizens’ welfare and said he did the right thing by distributing the national wealth among his countrymen, others were less convinced. One, for example, said the increase was a joke for a country which has oil. The South American nation has recently emerged as a major contributor to the global crude supply.