The Treasury Department has launched the final phase of retroactive pay disbursements to public servants, covering the period January 2018 to December 2023. Outstanding teacher upgrade payments are expected to be issued by the end of Thursday.
Director General for Communications in the Prime Minister's Office, Maurice Merchant, made the announcement at Thursday's post-Cabinet media briefing. He explained that payments are being processed in phases via electronic funds transfer as ministries and departments verify final amounts.
Merchant was clear that the current disbursements do not constitute an additional retroactive payment. Rather, they represent the remaining balances owed to public servants who did not receive their full entitlements during the first two phases of the programme.
"Some persons were owed a balance and so now the Treasury is working on giving those persons who did not receive all of their retroactive payments the remaining balance," he said.
Total disbursements across the first two phases have exceeded $4.6 million, excluding payments still being processed for certain government offices. In keeping with Cabinet's earlier directive, no statutory deductions have been applied to any of the retroactive payments.
Cabinet was also advised that the Treasury is prioritising the finalisation of outstanding payments under the teacher upgrade programme. "These payments are being prioritised with the Treasury aiming to issue the outstanding sums by the end of today, Thursday, once all final checks are completed," Merchant said.
Provisions have been made for eligible individuals who have since left the public service, enabling them to receive their payments upon submission of the required information to the Treasury.
When asked whether statutory corporations and entities such as the hospital were included in the current disbursements, Merchant indicated that the information available to him suggested they were not among the initial payments, as those institutions largely manage their payroll from internal sources. He noted the matter would be investigated further.
