AS expected, public servants in general will be receiving another wage increase in time for the Xmas holidays. Of course, this is welcomed by all, despite the usual criticisms etc. from the naysayers. But there are a few observations that need to be made.
There is no country, anywhere, where wage increases are known to adequately address the spiralling cost of living that is a fact of daily life for virtually every class of persons. Even in the great metropolises – persons are feeling the crunch of daily economic existence.

Life ain’t easy, as the saying goes.
No one will argue that more cannot be done for the workers of Guyana. This has been a daily pre-occupation of the PPP/C government since its ascension to office in 1992. In every imaginable sphere the lot of the nation’s working class has improved exponentially, beginning with significant increases to earnings; and this is allied to the raising of the income tax threshold several times in the past 10 years that has resulted in workers having more disposable incomes.
The point that need to be understood clearly in the local context is that the critics need to understand wage increase, not only from a percentage pole, but from the wider aspect of the cumulative socio-economic benefits such as easier access to home ownership with low mortgage interest rates; improved medical facilities; increases in social assistance payments, and increased assistance in education spending such as free uniforms and meals. The list is endless from where Guyanese are reaping more social benefits, than at any other time of the nation’s history. Citizens are now acquiring more material comforts. One only has to observe the proliferation of motor vehicle ownership, to fathom the fact of a better economic enabling environment.
Finally, whereas most developing countries have had to freeze wages as a result of the current economic downturn, Guyanese are still able to receive additions to their earnings. This could have only occurred because of prudent management of the economy.