Cayman Islands Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly announced on Friday that public sector employees will receive a US $2,000 Christmas bonus, a gesture aimed at easing financial pressures during the holiday season. Speaking on a local radio station, O’Connor-Connolly confirmed that the government is in a position to make this one-off payment.
The bonuses are expected to cost the government an additional $9.7 million, and are part of a broader package that includes a five percent cost of living allowance in the New Year. The government’s aim is to ensure that civil servants have a minimum wage of US $3,000 per month. This financial boost is seen as a way to support public sector workers amid rising living costs.
The premier added that the government is also planning to give pensioners a bonus.
“Santa Claus will not skip them over,” she said, and there will be “something in their chimneys.”
The bonus is being extended to public sector employees in statutory authorities and government companies as well, but the premier said that they will need to find the money from their own budgets.
She said the wider payout of $10 million will come out of the existing government’s operating budget and will not require extra funding.
