PRESIDENT ALI: EXPIRED AGREEMENT CANNOT DICTATE 2026 SALARIES — NEGOTIATE NO
November 14, 2026.
The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) strongly condemns President Dr. Irfaan Ali’s stated intention to rely on the expired 2024–2025 Multi-Year Agreement to determine salary increases for public servants in 2026. This information was published by Newsroom online media platform under the caption: “Public servants to receive salary increases under existing multi-year agreements”.
It is both contradictory and unacceptable that while the Ministry of Public Service, Government Efficiency and Implementation has formally requested additional time from the Union to commence talks, the President is simultaneously announcing the basis for upcoming salary adjustments. Furthermore, the Government has already failed in its obligation to honour its commitment to meet with the GPSU monthly, in keeping with the 2024 Agreement. As early as December 2025, the GPSU wrote to the Government requesting a review of the 2025 wage increases and calling for the immediate commencement of negotiations for 2026—a call that remains unfulfilled.
Collective bargaining cannot be pre-empted by unilateral presidential pronouncements, nor can an expired agreement be arbitrarily extended to govern a new period. The 2024–2025 Multi-Year Agreement provided for increases of 10% in 2024 and 8% in 2025. Any salary adjustment for 2026 must be properly negotiated in strict accordance with the 1987 Agreement for the Avoidance and Settlement of Disputes, the Constitution of Guyana, and applicable labour legislation.
Forcing public servants to survive on last year’s wages amid a relentless cost-of-living crisis is not mere negligence—it is a deliberate stalling tactic. Although the 2026 National Budget was passed in February, funds already allocated for workers remain withheld ten months later while genuine collective bargaining is sidelined. By running down the clock until year-end, the Government guarantees that any retroactive payout backdated to January will be issued as a lump sum and heavily taxed at 25%—effectively clawing back vital relief that workers needed months ago just to cover groceries, utilities, and transportation. Dragging out negotiations is not fiscal prudence; it is a calculated strategy that erodes purchasing power, undermines good-faith bargaining, and forces the very backbone of the public service to pay the price for administrative foot-dragging. The President’s fixation on macro-economic growth and major infrastructure projects, shows a disconnect from everyday household struggles among fixed income earners.
The severe financial strain caused by these delays is well-documented. As part of its effort to engage in meaningful collective bargaining, the GPSU has already submitted ethnographic research findings to the Government establishing that minimum-wage families with at least one child experience a monthly shortfall of 31% to 35% of their gross household income just to meet essential expenses across food, housing, healthcare, and utilities. A 35% increase would amount to approximately G$35,000 on a G$102,000 salary. While even this figure does not constitute a true living wage, it represents a critical and necessary step toward easing severe household hardship. Despite the Union’s proactive submission, to date, a counter-proposal has not been submitted by the Government. Dedicated public servants continue to keep this country running while struggling daily to feed, house, and clothe their families.
The foremost responsibility of President Ali and his administration is to safeguard the well-being of the people of Guyana before prioritizing the interests of foreign investors.
Public servants deserve fair compensation, a genuine living wage, and the dignity of being able to provide for their families. President Ali, we urge you to honour your administration's commitments and ensure that formal negotiations commence without further delay to alleviate the mounting economic struggles of Guyana’s public servants.
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