Public Service salary increase: Jagdeo slams Govt for ‘attempting to fool the masses’

Government’s proposed salary increase to public workers is really not the 10 per cent it is selling to the public, but four per cent less.

Former President and now Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo said recently that Government was attempting to fool the masses with its proposal.

“The actual increase is not 10 per cent; they want the 10 per cent to be stuck in people’s head – it is just over six per cent. So, it is totally unacceptable,” Jagdeo said.

He said what made the situation even more “egregious” was the fact it was the same people who took the huge increase for themselves of 50 to over 100 per cent using two explanations: they took the increases to avoid being corrupt and to make themselves more efficient.

“Now if you’re saying that a Minister’s salary has to move from $580,000 to close to $1 million to make him less corrupt, what you are saying to the public servants who are taking home about $100,000 per month is that you can steal until you get to a million dollars a month or not be efficient, because that is the reasoning they use for the Ministers…What we find is a lot of confusion and hypocrisy on the part of this government,” Jagdeo blasted.

Government and the GPSU are still at a standstill on salary increase negotiations. While Government maintains that it will not budge from its 10 per cent offer, the GPSU has been holding out and has even suggested that the two parties meet again for more talks. President David Granger has, however, said that there was nothing more that could be offered at this time.