“MONDAY, December 16 is pay day.” Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, made this remark yesterday in the context of the recently announced 2013 salary increase for public servants.Speaking at his weekly post-Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the President in Georgetown, Dr Luncheon explained that, on that day, public officers would receive their December wages and salaries, along with a retroactive payment equal to five percent of the year’s normal accumulated wages, which would be paid ‘across the board’. The payment would be made as one, encompassing the December wages and salaries and the sum of the retroactive payment, he further clarified.

At a previous press briefing, Dr Luncheon had said that Cabinet was continuing to monitor the implementation of the 2013 Minimum Wage Order. He said the public sector, particularly the public service, mostly attracted Cabinet’s interest, dealing specifically with the provision of services and the employment of officers in the public service.

In compliance with the Minimum Wages Order, those two major areas involved financial considerations and cost increases associated with the eight-hour work day for full-time employees who do five days and 40 hours per week. One consequence of the provisions of the Minimum Wages Order going into effect, Dr Luncheon said, was that salary increases and costs for procurement of services had to be entertained.

“Cabinet noted that since 1977, when the Public Service Minimum Wage was promulgated, a National Minimum wage was not in existence in Guyana. This initiative was long overdue, and enjoys the strong support of Cabinet for its implementation with effect from July 1,” Dr Luncheon had said.
Written By Telesha Ramnarine