The eight per cent salary increase for public sector employees will be paid in July’s salary, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance and the Public Service, Dr Ashni Singh, announced on Friday.
This increase will be paid to all public servants, teachers, members of the disciplined services, constitutional office holders, as well as government pensioners.
The government and the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) signed a two-year agreement last year that saw 69,000 public servants, including teachers and members of the armed forces, benefitting from a 10 per cent pay hike.
Public employees will now be receiving another eight per cent increase in 2025.
This additional eight per cent will bring the cumulative salary increase made by the government from 2021 to 2025 to 46 per cent. At the end of 2024, the public sector wage bill grew by more than $90 million since 2020.
Apart from salary increases, the PPP/C administration has been supporting public servants and their families through cash transfers, such as the $50,000 Because We Care cash grant, along with a $5000 uniform voucher.
Persons 18 years and older have also benefitted from a $100,000 cash grant that placed an additional $60 billion in disposable income into the pockets of ordinary Guyanese.
The elderly, importantly, saw their old age pensions rise from a mere $22,000 in 2020 to $41,000 in 2025.
People who have remitted between 500 and 749 contributions to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) can also apply to benefit from the one-off payment programme. To be eligible, persons must have attained the age of 60 on or before 31 December 2024.
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