The St Vincent government has confirmed welcome news for public servants. A salary bonus is scheduled for payment in January.
However, the most significant detail of this announcement isn’t just the bonus but the method the government plans to use for the payout.
While campaigning in the 2025 election, the then Opposition NDP, among its 60-day pledge, promised a salary bonus to public servants once elected to office.
In an interview with iWitness News on Friday, the PM told the publication that public servants can expect a salary bonus in the new year.
“This is all part of fulfilling our ’60-day pledge’. The government has committed to delivering the payment within 60 days.”
The bonus is framed as what will be, for most public servants, a “full month’s pay”—but not for everyone equally.
The government, through the prime minister, has made it clear that the payout will be “skewed towards those at the lower end.” During the interview, Friday directly stated the official rationale for this targeted approach.
“That’s the idea – to give the bigger benefit to the persons who are, you know, feeling the pinch, those at the lower end of the scale.”
Among the other promises aimed at providing tangible economic relief and support for Vincentians are two VAT-free shopping days, a one-time 50 per cent concession on vehicle duties for public servants with 10 or more years of service, duty-free concessions on film and digital equipment up to $20,000, a $500 bonus for mothers upon childbirth and an ambitious plan to extend maternity leave from three to six months.