Former Opposition Leader and leader of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Aubrey Norton, is calling on the Government to grant public servants a minimum 25 per cent increase in wages and salaries.
He argued that rising living costs and booming oil revenues have not translated into fair compensation for the workers who deliver core public services.
In comments made as Guyana traditionally approaches its year-end cycle of public-sector pay announcements, Norton said the current wage framework is failing to keep pace with inflation and what he described as a growing divide between top government officials and ordinary state employees.
Norton’s call comes against the backdrop of a two-year agreement signed between the Government and the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) in 2024, under which about 69,000 public servants, including teachers and members of the armed forces, received a 10 per cent increase for 2024, followed by an additional eight per cent increase in 2025.
However, Norton said the 2025 increase was “ridiculously low” in the current economic climate, contending that public servants have watched their purchasing power shrink while the country’s wealth expands.
In pressing his case, he pointed to what he said were sharp differences in earnings, claiming the President receives about $2.9 million per month, while ministers and the Leader of the Opposition earn about $1.8 million per month, compared with a minimum public-service salary he placed at $100,000 per month by the end of 2025.
He also linked wage demands to Guyana’s rapid oil-sector expansion, arguing that projected revenue growth from petroleum production strengthens the case for higher compensation in the public service.
Norton said citizens “legitimately expect” that increased revenues should translate into durable investments, including improved wages for state employees.
Norton noted that APNU had previously proposed a graduated 35 per cent increase in public-sector wages in its 2025 election manifesto, but said current conditions warrant an immediate floor of 25 per cent.
He argued that the increase would help restore purchasing power, promote social equity in the distribution of oil wealth, stimulate domestic demand for local businesses, and improve the state’s ability to retain skilled workers needed for expanding public investment and regulation.
On the fiscal impact, Norton said the Government’s own reporting placed public-sector wages and salaries at roughly $227 billion by the end of 2025, and that a 25 per cent across-the-board adjustment would increase the annual wage bill by about $56.75 billion, which he maintained is affordable.
