All public officers now earning above living wage
The government has announced that as of March 31, they’ve successfully converted all 2,499 public officers to a new salary structure, which means that all civil servants are now earning above the living wage.
The conversion follows the Compensation Review and Job Classification report completed by consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in October 2023 and submitted to Cabinet on November 8, 2023.
During the 2024 budget presentation, Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley revealed that the consultants found that 17.3 percent of government workers were earning below $23,719.80 per annum, which is the lowest wage that persons need to live a decent life in the BVI.
They found that another 42.6 percent of government workers were earning just $23,719.80 per annum but the Premier had said this wasn’t enough to help them save, settle debt, and plan for emergencies and investments.
With the new salary structure now in place, Deputy Governor David Archer thanked the public officers who worked alongside the consultants.
“Public officers are the driving force of our territory. Therefore, we have a responsibility to ensure that they are equitably compensated according to industry and international standards. The success of this exercise speaks to our continued commitment to building a world-class public service that is filled with individuals who are truly proud to be public officers,” Archer said.
During his 2024 budget address, Premier Wheatley announced Cabinet’s decision to include nearly $10 million in this year’s budget to effect the new salary structure.
The Office of the Deputy Governor began consultations after this announcement on the findings of the Compensation Review report in an effort to gather feedback on the proposed new salary structure. These meetings included Public Service Associations and Unions, Senior Managers and the wider Public Service.
The Office of the Deputy Governor will also implement a new allowances and benefits schedule for the Public Service beginning April 15. The schedule seeks to streamline the allocation of additional compensation for eligible public officers.
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Now get the minimum living wage a reality. I will suggest you take a look at how Grenada done it by category. “Very Nice”. Ask to see Grenada proposals. I too believe it should be categorized. A security Guard or a truck Driver shouldn’t be getting the same minimum wage as a store clerk or shelve packer..If they get $9.00 as minimum. The truck Driver and security which is high risk jobs should get at Least $10.50
If all the 2,499 public ‘officers’ were paid $25,000 per year (and most of them earn much more than that) it wound cost the Government over $62 million.
There are far too many people working for the Government, and we need to reduce the number dramatically.
Since when did they all become officers – most of them are clerks of one form or another.
Go back to your country and its meager job opportunities. Talking bout reduce work force and the people gon do what
work maybe?
Although it may worked for Grenada , and it might a good idea to research it first / these wannabe superstars aristocracts we have here , won’t think about trying it , because it’s from the ( ISLAND PEOPLE ) so with
the ( EXENOPFOBIA DRAMA ) in effect here , that’s a lost case .
Although it may worked for Grenada , and it might a good idea to research it first / these wannabe superstars aristocracts we have here , won’t
think about trying it , because it’s from the ( ISLAND PEOPLE ) so with
the ( EXENOPFOBIA DRAMA ) in effect here , that’s a lost case . our ( FAKE PRIDE ) won’t allow it * if it was something to do with ( FREE JAMS ) we all know that will get our master’s full
( ATTENTION )
we are homeless and jobless and penniless with a place to call our own and with food to eat. we have no jobs and no career and no profession. we are poor and needy and downtrodden. we live below poverty and we live in poverty.
I rebuke everything you have typed and utter!
In a small community like ours, some supervisors may be too personal and unprofessional and may seek to stymie the growth and performance of people based on their personal vendettas. The new salary structure seems to have less emphasis on education and skill. We need to ensure the workforce is trained properly to perform. Unfortunately not all public officers are adequately trained to do their jobs due to many factors.
What is the BVI Living wage (amount)just checking
well hope they all now pay into their own pernsion scheme and its no longer paid by the government giving a wage rise of more than 17% to some wtf
I would love to see the math on how they determine that $23,719.80 per year to be a living wage in the BVI. a 1 bedroom apartment alone is like $1200 per month. you can barely eat if you making 23k in reality.
I hope they’re giving us value for money….
Now please make the minimum wage on par with this increase so that the private sector can also implement this living wage to its employees.
Now look out for the parasitic landlords and the so-called People’s store with the price increases. Back to square one.
now to see about raising minimum wage for the public! it ain’t just government workers living on the Island, the poor needs to eat too! the supermarket prices that been skyrocketing for months now isn’t any help.
all hell break loose again with price increase or price gouging foe every thing from cradle to grave.
This should not have been made made public.
Mr.Premier and Ms. Deputy Premier I beg your indulgence to demonstrate for us please how a married couple both earning “a BVI living wage” at just under $50,000 can as the Premier put it “live a decent life” in these Virgin Islands. How can they
1)Purchase land
2)Pay rent or afford a mortgage
3)send their children to college
4)Take a vacation (without sleeping on a relative’s floor)
5)buy a car
6)comfortably pay for groceries
7)afford day care
8)buy gas
9)invest
10)pay for illnesses
11)pay for internet/wifi
12)pay for utilities
13)have emergency savings
14)pay for entertainment
Please teach us this new math so we can understand it! If families are struggling who earn twice as much, how do you expect people to survive on $24,000 a year? how can a single parent do it? This is INSANE!!! We are being gentrified in our own country. The big houses that we see up on the hills aren’t owed by people who earn $24,000 a year. They are owed by YOU and the business owners who want the minimum wage to remain what it is so their pockets can get bigger and the divide between the haves and the have nots expand.
This is why we have so many social ills in our country because people are doing what they can to survive. Children are on the loose because their parents have to work 2 jobs. They cry to the politicians for assistance and votes are exchanged for goods and services. Women young and old are selling their bodies to make it by. Young people are being sucked into illegal activities because they feel they can’t make it any other way.Parents are turning a blind eye knowing their children are involved in criminal activity because they help keep the lights on. And you wonder why people don’t want to participate in the census?? I challenge any of you who think this wage is acceptable to try it for just 1 month… just 1. Pay yourself $456.15 per week and let me know how that works for you. I’ll be waiting
That equates to a wage of over $11 per hour. As we all work to live that should be the benchmark for the minimum wage – who would not want to get paid a living wage?
this increase they talk about is only for the high heads in departments. Those of us who are in the field and on the ground doing the hard work, it is still not enough to live off of. Imagine getting paid 1300 every two weeks? Rent is all of that, school fees are half of that,groceries and utilities are the rest of it. Thier is nothing left to save or treat yourself. This new salary scale is nothing that the bvi government should be proud of. It is utter nonsense.
I have to laugh! We continue to blame government and businesses for the cost of living yet we continue to take out these crazy mortgages for oversized concrete boxes and paying crazy interest rates and crazier insurance rates. What do you expect the outcome to be? Everyone is working daily just to live a life they canmot afford in reality and its someone else fault. Apartments will forever increase as landlords need to pay mortgage, insurance and still want to make extra for themselves.
Every four years we elect a bunch of people thought to be the cream of the crop. And every such group, disappoint us big time. Before election, they are full of ideas and have all the answers, but again and again they are misfits or failures. No sooner they get elected, they research parliamentarians salaries and demand the same or greater, leaving their bosses in the abyss. Stop voting for air heads, they are not for the ordinary man. Their vision is personal, it’s all about their personal accounts and cronies, none has a genuine interest in the elevation of the territory as a whole. In all their travels, what have they brought back that benefits us as a people? Nothing nada niente!