Government has no excuse for not raising salaries of public servants -Opposition Leader

During a press conference, the Opposition Leader said the price of food and other commodities is once again on the rise and the government appear tone deaf to the cries of citizens.

Government has no excuse for not raising salaries of public servants  -Opposition Leader

Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton today said the government has no excuse for not raising the salaries of Public Sector workers and put measures in place for all Guyanese to benefit.

During a press conference, the Opposition Leader said the price of food and other commodities is once again on the rise and the government appear tone deaf to the cries of citizens.

In particular, the Opposition Leader said since Public Servants are not earning enough, preferential treatment should be given to them.

“Their refusal to give workers a descent and livable income and to take measures to address the extremely high cost of living in Guyana is a clear indication that their approach is not people centered. They are mere copycats for public relations purposes,” the Opposition Leader said.

The Opposition Leader joined the Public Service Union, in condemning the government imposition of a 7% wage increase over a two-year period for government workers.

In his estimation, the government can do way better for Public servants, he said.

“The government has the resources that it can give our people a livable wage, it chooses not to. It continues to give between 3 to 7 per cent increase on very low wages and salaries to workers. 3 % to 70,000 is $2,100 per month for the poor man,” Norton explained.

The Opposition Leader also recalled that the APNU+AFC coalition government was giving a higher percentage of salary increase to the lower paid workers and a lower percentage to those at the higher end of the income bracket, this he explained was to ensure that Public servants at the lower end of the scale receive a livable wage.

“This uncaring regime came and changed it and is giving across the board increases, what that means is that while the workers are getting $2,100 per month on their salaries, the President gets the same 3% on a salary of $3Million and therefore he gets, $90,000 more per month,” the Opposition Leader calculated.

Prices have been soaring for basic food items for several months. Although there have been some efforts by the government to remove taxes from some items, the prices remain high as the cost of living climbs.

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