On Wednesday, February 15, Cabinet made the decision to begin issuing outstanding increments to public officers.

Cabinet has decided to pay eligible public officers performance year increments, with arrears, for 2018 and 2019 to commence immediately and be substantially completed by end of the Second Quarter of 2023.

Additionally, the decision was made to pay eligible officers performance year increments for 2020, 2021 and 2022, without arrears initially, to be substantially completed by the end of the Third Quarter of 2023. In cases where officers are on the top of their scales, they will be paid a one-off payment the equivalent of the incremental value.

Therefore, eligible public officers at the end of the entire processing period, will receive the payment of two (2) full increments (2018 & 2019) and see a change in their salary levels by five (5) incremental steps.

The Office of the Deputy Governor in partnership with the Ministry of Finance and the Department of Human Resources, made presentations to Cabinet earlier this week regarding the payment of outstanding increments to public officers.

The presentation to Cabinet highlighted the impact of the delayed increment payments on the Public Service, and the effect on the engagement and morale of public officers. Prior to 2013, the payment of performance increments was in accordance with General Orders, and perfectly married to the Performance Management Programme. Due to the fluctuating fiscal challenges since 2012, which were further compounded by the disasters of 2017 and the COVID-19 pandemic, the payment of increments was subsequently delayed. 

Acting Premier Honourable Kye M. Rymer said that he is pleased with the outcome of this Cabinet decision.

“On behalf of the Premier, Dr. the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley, I would like to underscore that this decision is of monumental importance, and I am pleased to see it is being prioritised for the sake of so many hard working public officers who are owed these increments. This is a symbol of the Government’s commitment to driving public service excellence,” the Acting Premier said.

Similarly, Deputy Governor Mr. David Archer, Jr. also expressed his excitement.

“So many public officers will benefit from these long overdue payments of increments. These payments are an acknowledgement of their individual work and continued commitment to the Public Service. I am proud to have been able to be a part of this process and remain dedicated to ensuring that every officer is both recongised and valued for their work.”

The decision to commence the payment of increments comes as the Office of the Deputy Governor wraps up several Compensation Review stakeholder meetings. These focus-group sessions have taken place with various stakeholder groups within and external to the Public Service and is led by consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services Limited (PwC).

The Compensation Review and Job Classification Project, which is an initiative under the Public Service Transformation plan, seeks to address remuneration disparity; further support the retention, engagement and motivation of skilled and competent officers to effectively deliver public services, and move toward a ‘Total Rewards’ Scheme that promotes high performance. The Compensation Review is slated to be completed by August 2023

The Government of the Virgin Islands is committed to providing effective human resources leadership and partnership to drive Public Service Excellence.