Budget promises to look into raises for public servants

Public servants may have something to look forward to after Prime Minister and Finance Minister Gaston Browne said negotiations for increases for them will start this year.
In yesterday’s much anticipated Budget presentation by Browne, he acknowledged that majority of public servants have not received a raise in pay since 2008.
“The Government’s Negotiating Team will be reconstituted in 2017 [and] will be tasked with the responsibility of commencing discussions with the bargaining agents for the various segments of the public service to arrive at a satisfactory and fiscally sustainable way forward,” the prime minister said.
He added that the government will commission a review of the segments of the public service that have not yet been reclassified with a view to determine the appropriate salary scales for the relevant agencies and departments.
Browne pledged to continue to support public servants through a number of initiatives to include affordable housing and duty-free concessions on building materials for construction and renovation of their homes.
 
(More in in today’s Daily Observer)