GENERAL Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Bharrat Jagdeo has said that public servants will still get their retroactive salary increases, as this is separate and has no relation to the $100,000 cash grant.
Public servants had benefitted from a retroactive salary increase of 6.5 per cent last year, and are slated to benefit again this year.
“Salary increase and retroactive salary increase has nothing to do with the cash grant,” Jagdeo said in response to a question from a journalist during a press conference at Freedom House, on Thursday.

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, had announced that instead of the $200,000 one-off cash grant per household, the government would be proceeding with the $100,000 one-off cash grant initiative which would be more beneficial to Guyanese given that some households might have had internal conflicts, among other things.
Allaying any anxiety that would have existed among public servants, Jagdeo said: “Public servants will get their pay; this [the grant] does not take away their increases or retroactivity of the salary increases.”

Additionally, referring specifically to teachers, he said they will also get their 10 per cent and it will be retroactive to January.
Through a multi-year agreement between the government and the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), over the next three years, teachers will see a direct increase of some 27 per cent to their salaries. In 2024, they will receive a 10 per cent increase, in 2025 they will see an eight per cent increase, and in 2026 they will see a nine per cent increase.

Public servants will also benefit from other measures announced recently by the government, including a new income tax deduction of $10,000 per child, free tertiary education from January 2025, among other things aimed at improving the lives and livelihoods of all Guyanese.