Civil servants to get 5% pay increase

The government has announced a 5% cost-of-living adjustment for civil service salaries from 1 Jan. next year, as well as a review of wages for the lowest paid public servants.

In a statement in Parliament on Thursday, Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said the government had taken the decision to address “the widening gap between civil service salaries and the rate of inflation in the Cayman Islands”.

In addition to the 5% increase, the government and senior leadership in the civil service in the coming months will be carrying out a review aimed at increasing the salaries of those on the three lowest pay grades – R, Q and P – to ensure that all civil servants earn at least $3,000 a month, she said.

The premier added that civil servants’ salaries require an uplift to ensure that they remain competitive in the local and global talent market, “hence, this increase dually serves to bolster the civil service’s overall compensation package”.

She said it was “imperative that the government ensures that civil servants are not at a disadvantage in terms of their salaries, and that they can live comfortably in the same community they serve”.

Acting Deputy Governor Eric Bush, standing in for Deputy Governor Franz Manderson who is the head of the civil service, welcomed the salary increase, describing the decision as “both timely and necessary”.

“As civil servants, we are acutely aware of the economic challenges that confront our workforce,” he said in Parliament. “The rising cost of living has a tangible impact on the lives of civil servants and, by extension, on the fabric of our society.

“By addressing this through a carefully considered cost-of-living adjustment, we affirm our responsibility to ensure that our civil servants can meet these challenges with dignity and security. This adjustment is not merely a response to economic pressures but a testament to the value we place on our workforce’s contributions to the public good.”

Bush stated that the government’s ability to implement the salary adjustment was “a direct outcome of our commitment to fiscal prudence.

“The rigorous planning and responsible financial stewardship exhibited by our civil service have enabled us to allocate resources where they are most impactful, without compromising our overall budgetary objectives.”