Public servants and teachers in Guyana will receive their agreed eight percent salary increase for 2025 by the end of July, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and the Public Service, Dr. Ashni Singh, confirmed on Friday.
His announcement followed Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo’s comments at a press conference earlier in the week, where he affirmed the increase would be implemented before the September 1 national elections.
“We would have all seen the question posed to Vice President Jagdeo at his most recent press conference in connection with the 2025 across the board eight per cent salary increase, and we would have also seen Vice President Jagdeo’s response to that question,” Dr. Singh said. “I am delighted to confirm that the 2025 salary increase will be paid in July, together with July salaries, and will be retroactive to 1 January 2025 in keeping with the multi-year agreements signed with the unions.”
Dr. Singh emphasized that the increase stems from “historic multi-year agreements” signed last year with the Guyana Teachers Union, the Guyana Public Service Union, and other unions representing various public sector agencies. These agreements also extend to public sector entities such as the Guyana Oil Company (GUYOIL), the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), and the University of Guyana.
“This is an excellent thing, and it augurs very well for the industrial relations climate in Guyana, and it sends a very strong signal that collective bargaining is alive and is working extremely well in Guyana,” he stated.
The Minister noted that since returning to office in August 2020, the government has consistently implemented measures to improve livelihoods. Between 2021 and 2024, public servants and other categories of state employees received salary increases of 7%, 8%, 6.5%, and 10% respectively. With the new 8% raise for 2025, cumulative increases over five years now total 46%.
Dr. Singh added that the public sector wage bill has surged by 66% under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration, growing from $126.9 billion in 2020 to $210 billion in 2024. This reflects both the across-the-board increases and targeted salary adjustments for workers in health, education, and security.
He also highlighted several tax-related reliefs introduced by the government. These include the doubling of the income tax threshold from $65,000 in 2020 to $130,000 in 2025—removing over 60,000 people from the tax net and adding $18 billion in disposable income.
In addition, the personal income tax rates have been reduced—from 28% to 25% and from 40% to 35%—effective from the 2025 income year, benefiting more than 100,000 taxpayers. New tax exemptions have also been introduced: up to $50,000 monthly in overtime and secondary job income is now non-taxable, a move aimed at rewarding productivity.
Dr. Singh reminded the public of the government’s decision to reverse a policy by the previous APNU administration, restoring the mortgage interest relief ceiling from $15 million to $30 million. “As soon as we came back into government, we doubled the $15 million ceiling that APNU put in place,” he noted.
Other benefits introduced include tax deductions on medical and life insurance premiums (up to $50,000 monthly or 10% of salary) and a new child tax allowance, allowing one parent to claim $10,000 per child each month as non-taxable income.
The reinstatement of the one-month year-end bonus to the Disciplined Services was also highlighted. “This bonus, it would be recalled, was withdrawn by the APNU/AFC, along with the long list of other benefits they withdrew from the population,” Dr. Singh said.
“Looking ahead, we’ve heard our president and our vice president outlining the several very exciting things that we’re going to be doing during the next term of office to further improve the lives of every single Guyanese person, every single Guyanese family, and to increase their disposable income,” Dr. Singh concluded.
