Public sector workers have seen cumulative wage increases of 46 percent since 2020, with an eight percent across-the-board salary increase paid in 2025 as part of Government’s continued policy to raise disposable incomes and improve living standards.
Presenting Budget 2026 in the National Assembly on Monday, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, said the latest increase was in keeping with multi-year agreements reached with public sector unions.
“In 2025, in keeping with these multi-year agreements, an across the board increase of eight percent was paid to public sector employees,” Singh said.
He noted that the adjustment brought total wage increases granted since the PPP/C Government returned to office to 46 percent, underscoring what he described as a sustained commitment to improving workers’ earnings.
“This brought the cumulative salary increase granted to public sector employees to 46 percent since we assumed office in 2020,” Singh told the House.
As a result of the increases, the public sector wage bill stood at $252 billion at the end of 2025, compared with $127 billion in 2020, reflecting both higher salaries and expanded employment, particularly in the social sector.
Singh also highlighted additional income support for members of the disciplined services, noting that the restoration of the one-month bonus has placed billions of dollars in additional disposable income into the hands of those workers.
“Since the restoration of the one-month bonus to members of the disciplined services in 2020, more than $8 billion of additional disposable income, including $2 billion in 2025 alone, has been placed in the hands of the men and women in uniform,” he said.
The Finance Minister said the wage increases form part of a broader policy framework aimed at strengthening household incomes and ensuring that economic growth translates into tangible benefits for workers and their families.
Budget 2026 was presented under the theme “Putting People First,” with Government signalling that public sector wage growth will remain a central element of its agenda to improve quality of life across Guyana.
