By Admin. Updated 4:30 a.m., Tuesday, January 9, 2024, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
Civil servants in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) will receive the two (2) percent salary increase promised to them under a deal the government made with workers’ unions in 2022.
In September 2022, the government and the workers’ unions reached an agreement to see a three-year increase (2023-2025) in public servant’s salaries totaling seven (7) percent.
Under the agreement, public servants were to see an increase of 2.5 percent in 2023, an additional increase of 2 percent in 2024, and an additional increase of 2.5 percent in 2025, a total of seven percent.
Public servants received the first increase of 2.5 percent under the deal in January 2023 after the budget and will now receive the second increase of 2.0 percent, according to the January 2024 budget.
During his opening address on the 2024 Appropriations Bill (the budget) Minister of Finance, Economic Planning, and Technology – Camillo Gonsalves said:
“For the second consecutive year, Budget 2024 raises civil servant salaries and adjusts the income tax thresholds to benefit all workers. Civil servants in 2024 will receive a 2 percent salary increase, on the heels of the 2.5 percent they received last year. Next year, they will receive a further 2.5 percent hike”.
He also said that public sector wages were increased in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
In addition to the increase in salaries of public sector workers for 2024, Mr. Gonsalves said the threshold for taxable personal income will be moved higher to ensure workers keep more of their salaries.
“The standard deduction on personal income tax will be raised again this year, from $22,000 to $25,000,” he said.
“Budget 2024 therefore ensures that all public servants will be paid more, and all workers will keep more of their salary this year,” he added.
Persons receiving minimum wages who are paid below $1,000 per month in the public and private sectors will also see a jump in their salaries for 2024, as the government plans to adopt new regulations recommended by the Wages Council to increase minimum wages.
“In last year’s budget speech, we indicated that “Government has… convened a Wages Council, to analyse minimum wages and make recommendations.” As such, on the initiative and effort of our Minister of Labour, the Honourable Saboto Caesar, the Government has decided to significantly increase minimum wages this year. As a matter of policy, we have determined that no full-time worker in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines should earn less than $1,000 per month, and no full time daily-paid worker should make less than $50 per day,” the finance minister said.
“In some extreme cases, these increases will result in increases of up to 75 percent for monthly-paid workers and 56 percent for full-time, daily-paid workers, relative to the previous minimum wages. In most cases, however, the increase will be around 20 percent,” Mr. Gonsalves said.
He said: “Apprentices, interns, and other similar categories, including YES volunteers, will receive no less than $40 per day or $800 per month”.
He said: “This is our fourth adjustment in minimum wages, following increases in 2003, 2008 and 2017. As part of our unshakeable commitment to inclusive development and reduced inequality, the Government is using the tools at its disposal to ensure that our current economic growth spurt does not leave low-wage workers behind”.
“Inflationary concerns are receding, the economy is growing, and minimum wages had not been adjusted in over six years. This is the right time to look out for our watchmen, domestic workers, cashiers, bartenders, cooks, agricultural workers, cleaners, caregivers, gardeners and the myriad other hardworking Vincentians who make invaluable contributions to their families’ well-being and to national development,” he said.
He said: “In practice, most low-wage workers in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines already earn more than the previous minimum wage, so the initial difference in pay may be more modest than is suggested by an average increase of 20 percent. However, we expect the increase in minimum wages to create upward pressures on all wages, as concerns about wage distribution compression cause employers to consider the compensation of people who previously made slightly above the minimum wage thresholds. As an employer of many minimum wage agricultural workers, caregivers, cooks, cleaners, watchmen, and interns, the Government will also have to adjust its wage bill upwards”.
“We are convinced that this increase is timely, manageable, and progressive. We are equally certain that today’s announced increases in minimum wages will benefit workers, the wider economy, and our pursuit of more inclusive development,” he added.
He said the details of the revised minimum wages will be released immediately and will come into effect on 1* March 2024.
One News SVG 