with new salary adjustments, allowances, other interventions announced by President Ali

TEACHERS across Guyana are set to benefit from major adjustments to their salaries and allowances, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, announced on Thursday.
The Head-of-State, during a live broadcast to the nation, revealed the new adjustments to teachers’ salaries, and interventions that will accumulate to a total of $1.9 billion in additional disposable income for the country’s educators.

“As you would recall a few weeks ago I met with teachers from across the country. Subsequently, the Minister of Finance, Prime Minister and a number of other Cabinet colleagues would have met with unions across our country including the Guyana’s Teacher’s Union. We consulted, we listened…,” President Ali said before announcing the new interventions.
All graduate teachers who are holders of a relevant bachelor’s degree from the University of Guyana, a degree-awarding institution under the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) programme, or a degree certified by the National Equivalency Board, will be moved to the maximum point of the scale applicable to the post they currently occupy.
This, the President said, will benefit over 4,000 teachers at an additional annual cost of $ 1 billion, effective from December 1 2023.
Additionally, teachers will receive an education allowance of $ 10,000 monthly for holders of a bachelor’s degree; this allowance, he said, would be equivalent to $120,000 annually.
Meanwhile, teachers who are holders of a master’s degree will receive $ 20,000 and those who are holders of a doctorate will receive $30,000. These adjustments will see teachers earning, respectively, an additional $240,000, and $360,000 annually.

These revisions in allowances will benefit over 4,500 teachers at an additional annual cost of $500 million.
Further, he revealed that education allowances for teachers in remote areas will be adjusted upwards from its current level to $20,000. This will also take effect from December 1, 2023. This will benefit of over 2,400 teachers at an additional annual cost of $260 million.
Providing a scenario so persons could understand how the increases would apply, President Ali said A graduate Senior Mistress/Head of Department will now have their current salary adjusted upwards from $243,069 to $262,917, and with the inclusion of the revision to education allowances, represents an overall 12 per cent increase compared to the previous minimum salary paid to a graduate Senior Mistress/Head of Department.

In the case of a graduate Senior Assistant Mistress working in the hinterland, the current minimum salary will be adjusted upwards from $223,232 to $243,076, and with the inclusion of the revision to education allowances and Remote Areas Incentive (RAI), this will represent an overall 16 per cent increase compared to the previous minimum salary paid to a graduate Senior Assistant Mistress in an RAI area.

“If you look at the average of the increase in salaries alone, the annualised benefit that will go to a teacher is close to $240,000 at a minimum level. When we add the allowances this will of course take this up further,” President Ali said.

Outside of salaries and allowances, all teachers who hold a substantive appointment as a Senior Master/Mistress or above, and are within three years of retirement and have not previously received a duty-free concession on a motor car, are entitled to a duty-free concession for a motor car up to 1500cc.
This intervention, according to the President, is expected to cost $150 million annually.
“As of now, we have approximately 100 concessions that are given to teachers annually. Outside of these 100 concessions now, we are putting the position that every teacher once you are a senior master, mistress and above that you are entitled to this concession three years before retirement in keeping with the laws. This additional benefit will cost $150 million annually,” the President said.

The benefits do not end there, as the Head-of State announced the government’s plans for across-the-board salary increases to public servants. This will include the salaries of teachers, members of the disciplinary services and workers of semi-autonomous agencies.