Browne Tells Negotiators to Offer Maximum Affordable Pay Increase to Public Workers

Prime Minister and Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party leader Gaston Browne says the government has instructed its negotiating team to offer public sector workers the highest wage increase the country can afford, as talks with unions continue.

Speaking on Pointe FM’s Browne and Browne Show, Browne said the directive to negotiators is clear.

“We have set our negotiating team that as the negotiations continue, give them the maximum that they can,” he said.

The prime minister noted that the government has already granted a 5% wage increase to all public servants, including both established and non-established workers, as part of efforts to improve incomes.

“When it comes to salaries and wages… we have already given all public servants, established and non-established, a five percent increase,” Browne said.

He indicated that further increases remain on the table, but will depend on what the country can sustainably finance.

The remarks come amid ongoing negotiations between the government and public sector unions over wages and working conditions, with workers pressing for additional increases in the face of rising living costs.

Browne has previously said that any adjustment to wages at the lower end of the scale has wider implications for the entire public sector pay structure, increasing the overall cost to the Treasury.

The administration is also working toward a broader “livable wage” policy, which is expected to raise minimum monthly earnings in the public sector to about $2,200, with some workers moving higher after adjustments.

Government officials have also been processing back pay owed to public servants, with more than $30 million allocated and payments expected to be completed in phases.

Browne said the government remains committed to balancing improved wages with fiscal responsibility as negotiations continue.