All of the territory’s 2,499 public officers are now earning at least a “living wage” under a new salary structure implemented last month following a review carried out by consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers, according to government.
PWC’s Compensation Review and Job Classification Report — which was completed last October and submitted to Cabinet on Nov. 8 — found that the previous median salary for public officers in grades One to Three was below the “living wage for the average individual household.”
The consultants calculated this “living wage” at $23,719.80 annually, a number they said reflects “the costs to live a basic but decent life” in the territory, “inclusive of food, housing, education, healthcare, transportation, clothing and other essential needs for a family, including unexpected events.”
PWC also found that 17.3 percent of public officers were earning below this living wage.
Under the new salary structure, which was finalised as of March 31, no public offers are earning below the living wage, Deputy Governor David Archer Jr. said in an April 12 press release.
Various increases
The salary increases vary across different positions, according to the Deputy Governor’s Office.
“What occurred is an increase in the overall salary structure for all grades in the public service,” DGO Communications Officer Nia Douglas-Wheatley told the Beacon in an email. “All public officers have been placed at the step in their current grade on the new salary structure that is the closest to their previous annual salary, without any reductions. Therefore, increases will vary based on where officers were previously placed in their current grade.”
In the 2024 Budget Address last November, Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley announced a Cabinet decision to include nearly $10 million in this year’s budget to implement the new salary structure.
Ms. Douglas-Wheatley told the Beacon that the annual cost of the increases is projected to be within this $10 million range.
Consultations
Mr. Archer praised the move in the April 12 press release.
“Public officers are the driving force of our territory,” he said. “Therefore, we have a responsibility to ensure that they are equitably compensated according to industry and international standards.”
DGO Permanent Secretary Sharleen DaBreo-Lettsome echoed Mr. Archer, praising the government’s work on the initiative, which included recent consultations with public service associations and unions, senior managers, and the wider public service.
“The Department of Human Resources and human resources teams across the public service worked feverishly to ensure that all factors of this exercise were in place to allow public officers to receive their salary conversions in a timely manner,” Ms. DaBreo-Lettsome said.
“The completion of this step is the result of a major team effort, both within the government and externally with PricewaterhouseCoopers and marks the beginning of a new age in the public service.”
The DGO will also implement a new allowances and benefits schedule for the public service beginning April 15, according to the press release.
“The schedule seeks to streamline the allocation of additional compensation for eligible public officers,” the release stated.
Contract
The government awarded PWC a $302,103 contract in October 2022 to carry out the compensation review and job classification.
