Premier Brantley reassures 5% salary increase for Nevis public servants will be honoured
NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (November 18, 2022) – Premier Hon. Mark Brantley has given the assurance that public servants and government pensioners on Nevis will be paid the five percent increase in January 2023 as promised.
During Premier Brantley’s monthly press conference, held November 17, 2022, a local journalist questioned if the five percent increase would still be paid in light of the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) paying a $2000 honorarium to frontline workers and other individuals, and a double salary bonus to public servants and pensioners in November.
The Premier responded, “The five percent salary [increase] to civil servants, that will be done on January 01, 2023 as has been committed with a further five percent on January 01, 2024 as has been committed. There’s no issue or debate. The issue of double salary and honorarium is an entirely separate issue.”
Hon. Brantley, Minister of Finance in the NIA, reminded that in May 2022, the Cabinet announced a 15 percent increase for civil servants, compounded over the period 2022 to 2024. The first five percent increase in their salaries and wages, retroactive to January 01, 2022, was paid in May of this year.
“These were salary increases that were announced when the former Prime Minister announced the 10 percent retroactive. We could not afford it in Nevis and I didn’t shy away from that. I came to the public and I said this was the position, and to manage it in terms of our cash flow our technocrats advised that we could do 15 percent, but spread over 3 years and that is what we have done.
“So our civil servants then in Nevis would have gotten 5 percent this year retroactive to January, they will get a 5 percent in January [2023] and a further 5 percent in January 2024. So there is no doubt about that and we will budget for that in our budgetary discussions,” he stated.
During the press conference the Honourable Premier informed that the double salary bonus for 2022 will be paid on November 22, while the honorarium for frontline workers will be paid on or before November 30.