During Wednesday’s Parliamentary sitting, Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre announced that the Salaries Review Commission has recommended a cumulative 23 per cent salary increase for 54 public servants grades 19 to 21, members of the political directorate and other constitutional offices.
The recommended 23 percent increase was calculated over six trienniums, covering the period from 2011/2012 to 2027/2028, at an annual rate of 1.35 percent.
Under the proposed arrangement, a cumulative 20.3 percent salary increase would cover the period April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2026. A further 1.35 percent increase would take effect retroactively from April 1, 2026, followed by another 1.35 percent increase effective April 1, 2027.
The Commission also considered senior officers who retired during the period in which salaries remained unchanged and have recommended that retired senior management receive a proportionate entitlement to the cumulative 23 percent increase, calculated up to the year of retirement within the applicable triennium. Pensions and gratuities for retired officers in grades 19 to 21 would also be recomputed to reflect the revised salary levels.
The proposed recalculation of retroactive pay and pension benefits is based on the statutory framework governing the computation of pensionable emoluments under Regulation 18 of the Pensions Act.
Pierre noted expressed that “this approach ensures that retirees are not disadvantaged by the timing of their retirement and that pension outcomes more accurately reflect the value of service rendered” and also stressed that “an identical is employed for rank and file employees across grades 1 to 18.”
Beyond basic salaries, the Commission has recommended revisions to allowances, including allowances for uniformed grade 19 officers in the police, fire and correctional services.
The recommendations are being considered against the wider history of public-sector remuneration over the past 15 years.
They come after a prolonged period of salary stagnation for senior management and the political directorate, with Pierre noting that they have not received a pay increase since 2011.
This was juxtaposed against adjustments received by other public officers, with public service employees in grades 1 to 18 receiving cumulative increases of 21.5 percent in basic salaries and allowances up to the 2022–2025 triennium, with a further seven percent salary increase applicable to the 2025–2028 triennium.
Pierre, who lauded the work of the Commission, described it as an entity designed “to ensure justice.” In concluding his announcement, he insisted that “senior public servants and members of the political directorate alike bear heavy responsibilities. Their remuneration must reflect the dignity of the offices and the burdens they carry. To deny them fair consideration is to weaken the institutions upon which our democracy rests.”
The date for the commencement of amended payments was not readily available.