Dear Editor,
I AM not one to dabble in politics or anything of the sort but I feel compelled to write this letter to you to share my view on the recently announced seven per cent salary increase for public servants. I will keep this as short as possible and get straight to the point.

At a time like this when everyone is faced with challenges that were brought about by the pandemic, there is a growing need for more disposable income to reach the people. People need more money so that they can survive at a time when prices are rising. We examine the situation in our neighbouring countries or even CARICOM countries and we see how people are crying out for help. It is not just something that is confined to Guyana. Everyone needs help and even a seven per cent increase in salary will help in some way or the other.

I did some research on salary increases in other CARICOM countries and what I found is something that I am sure will never see the light of day from the opposition’s end. In Antigua, the government has been struggling to pay salary increases to its workers. In fact, an article that was published by Nation News on September 7, 2021 outlined the challenges the government has been facing with paying the increase. The main issue was the pandemic and the impact on the country, especially with lockdowns and so forth. Shifting focus to Jamaica, we see that they also had a struggle with salary increases because of the pandemic. Reports from the Jamaican government as well as the Jamaica Gleaner publication outlined that workers will receive a four per cent salary increase come 2022 but they will be getting retroactive payment from April 1, 2021. Looking at these figures, it is clear that Guyana has done better by offering a seven per cent increase and retroactive salary from January 1, 2021. If this does not put into perspective how good we are getting in Guyana, allow me to point out the situation in Dominica. The Dominica News Online publication reported early in March 2021 that public officers will be getting a 1.25 per cent increase. This is far less than what Guyana’s public officials are getting in addition to it being retroactive.

I think it is very important for people to consider all the facts before launching on social media to criticise the government. I saw that many of the opposition members like Duncan, Jones and McDonald to name a few, were using the comparisons put out by the PPP/C to say that even though those countries received lower increases than Guyana, they pay higher wages and as such the people have more spending power. Even though that may be true, every single country struggled to settle at a specific percentage because of the pandemic. They could not give their workers anything sizable and many could not make it retroactive. Guyana has given seven per cent retroactive across the board which, in the context of Guyana, is noteworthy especially with the pandemic still in full swing.

Sincerely,
Alvin Hamilton