–President Ali says

By Shamar Meusa
PRESIDENT, Dr. Irfaan Ali, on Tuesday evening, announced that work has started on the adjustments of the low salary scales of public servants.

The Head of State said this during his address at a networking reception for a visiting United Kingdom (UK) Trade delegation.

President Ali said that on Tuesday, he engaged the Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, in relation to the works on the adjustments to the low salary scales of government workers.

He said: “Today, I asked the Minister of Finance to complete the work on the adjustments in the lower scales because we have to work with the nurses, the constables in the police force [among others]…”

According to the President, things must be done differently in the country, especially as it regards the upliftment of Guyanese.

Dr. Ali went on to say that there is no guesswork at play, noting that there are many sleepless nights behind policy decisions that are made by the government.

To this end, he said this could be seen if one is to look at what is happening in the world in relation to security and cost of living, and look at what the government here is doing to avoid the full impact of those issues.

Meanwhile, as a further benefit to government workers, earlier this month, Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo confirmed that there will be salary increases for public servants this year.

The Vice-President, when asked about wage increases for public servants as the year comes to a close, said: “Yes, there is a public service increase that’s already budgeted for.”

Since entering office, the government has kept its commitment to ensuring that public servants benefit from myriad initiatives and opportunities.

In 2021, Public servants benefitted from a seven per cent increase in wages and salaries for all categories of workers. This increase was paid to public servants, teachers, members of the disciplined forces, constitutional office holders and government pensioners.