Opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo
Opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday during his weekly press conference told the press in an opening that the members of the joint services are worst of today than they were when the Peoples progressive party Civic was in office.
“Jordan says about the Joint Services because they are getting a salary increase which is permanent so under the PPP, I am told they did not get a salary increase that was permanent” Jagdeo told his press conference.
Jagdeo was at the time making reference to the salary increase announced by Finance Minister Winston Jordan for Public Servants.
The announcement which was announced for Public Servants last week will see various percentage being paid to persons based on where they fall on the salary scale.
“So joint services in spite of all the nonsense that Jordan is talking that the soldiers, the policemen, and the firemen and the others are worst off today and even after the salary increases”
He however reminded that it was since the coalition government came into office that a customary bonus which was given to all members of the joint service during the PPP’s time in government was discontinued
“They also got a salary increase that was permanent but on top of that every year they got a one month tax free bonus they do not; since the last five years that APNU is in government, now they have not received the bonus for any of those years so they have lost one month of tax free salary and what did they get, they get a nine percent increase now and under the PPP they use to get about 6 maybe 8 percent that’s what they were getting that was permanent increase” the Opposition leader noted.
Government has boasted that the salary increases which was granted to Public Servants since coming into office in 2015 has far outweighed the total percentage of increase which was given to the Public Servants over the PPP’s 23 year rule.