Public servants to get $25,000 tax-free Christmas bonus

Public servants have been granted a $25,000 Christmas bonus by the government, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan announced yesterday, while declaring that it will help “ease the journey to the good life.”

“Mr Speaker, I am pleased to announce the payment of a one-off, taxfree bonus of $25,000 to all public servants earning less than $500,000 per month, who fall within the ministries, departments and regions,” Jordan told the house as he closed the debate on the proposed 2017 budget.

This bonus follows a 10% to 1% differentiated increase received by public servants on their October salaries in spite of the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) having rejected the offer.

That offer, which was made in August, fell far below the GPSU’s initial demand of a 40% acrossthe-board hike, which it later amended to 25%.

President David Granger had stated that it was an interim payment made in time to facilitate the timely completion of the 2017 budget and that negotiations would continue to secure an increase with which all parties would be comfortable. However, four months later, the GPSU accused government of ignoring the continuing anguish and frustration of public servants by failing to engage in negotiations with the level of urgency and importance they deserve.

In a statement released in November, the union noted that with 2016 ending it was becoming concerned over the failure of the ongoing negotiations between itself and the Government of Guyana to bear any meaningful fruit in the various issues on the negotiating agenda. It called on the government to propose a “timeline that does not extend beyond the end of November for the resumption of determined and diligent negotiations on the remaining agenda items in the negotiating process” as well as to “immediately and clearly address its position on the agreed mechanism for addressing the deadlocked negotiations on wages and salaries.”

There was no response from the government to this request.