Guyana President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali said Guyana’s salary levels, in a few years, will win back critical groups of workers who have left Guyana’s shores for more attractive remuneration.
“In another few years, our salary structure will be comparable to many jurisdictions that our teachers, our nurses went, and they will want to return. And then it will become more competitive to enter different jobs,” Ali told an investment forum in a July 10 speech in Georgetown.
The country has been losing nurses in droves and just ended weeks-long strikes with teachers unsatisfied with their remuneration.
Public documents show Guyana has been losing hundreds of nurses over the years. At a time when the government is building more hospitals, the country’s ability to retain and build its healthcare staff is critical. With oil revenues growing, there is pressure to give proportional salary increases.
In December 2022, the government announced major salary increases for over 5,000 healthcare professionals in the public sector. In 2023, the Health Ministry announced a program would be rolled out to train 1,000 people annually to be registered nurses.
In the interim, the government said it would need to import foreign nurses to fill the gap. In March, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it authorized a firm to begin recruiting nurses from Bangladesh, and that shortages are presently being filled by nurses from Cuba. “The Government of Guyana remains open to the recruitment of specialized skills which do not currently exist in Guyana from any part of the globe, for both the public and private sectors,” the Ministry had said.
As for teachers, the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) led strike action dating back to February, over unmet requests for salary increases retroactive to 2019. The government and the union agreed on terms to end the strike in June, including a pathway for conciliation talks. The teachers want higher salaries, duty-free concessions, and other benefits.
Increases to public sector salaries have ranged 6-7% annually over the past three years. With the oil boom boosting fiscal space, the government has dismissed calls to give steeper salaries, citing concerns about inflationary pressures and its capacity to sustain the salaries.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has said the government must engage in cautious budgeting, considering the country’s many competing needs. He said the government must not go on a spending spree with its oil revenue on recurrent expenses.
