Walwyn Flags Unfair Pay Gap
Opposition Leader Myron Walwyn says a recent government salary review has produced large pay increases for junior public officers while leaving many middle and senior managers with little or no adjustment. He warns the disparity could dent morale and leadership in the civil service and plans to press the Deputy Governor’s Office at upcoming Standing Finance Committee sessions.
Opposition Leader Myron Walwyn has raised concerns that the government’s recent salary review has created an unfair pay gap that could undermine middle management in the public service. Walwyn told BVI Live that the review, led by the Deputy Governor’s Office and carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), produced substantial increases for junior officers in some cases — he said some lower‑rank staff received increases of up to 100 percent — while many senior and middle managers saw little or no change. "The way that the increases were given seemed to be somewhat, a bit, unfair to those persons who are in the middle of the scale," Walwyn said. "Persons at the lower end of the civil service, in some cases, got 100% increase in their salaries.
The middle and the top, to some extent, a corresponding amount was not done." He warned that the imbalance could weaken morale and leadership: "You have people who are very senior middle managers who saw little to no increase in their salary. The future of the civil service really lies within the middle management, and you want those brains to be able to make it to the top to help to move the country forward." The review was introduced last year with the stated aim of modernising the government’s pay structure and bringing parity with similar Caribbean administrations.
However, it has attracted criticism from some public officers who say the changes left them worse off or produced anomalies in the pay scale. Walwyn also highlighted that retirees were excluded from the review even as living costs rise. "You can imagine somebody who would have retired 25 years ago still living on that salary that they had, on the pension that they had 25 years ago, but the prices of things are going up every day," he said, drawing attention to pension erosion amid steady increases in import and living expenses.
It is not immediately clear how the government plans to address the disparities flagged by the Opposition. Walwyn said his team will question officials from the Deputy Governor’s Office during upcoming Standing Finance Committee hearings to seek explanations and press for remedies.
For BVI residents, the dispute raises wider questions about public sector retention, career progression and the ability of the civil service to attract and keep experienced managers at a time when consistent leadership is needed to implement recovery and development plans. The Deputy Governor’s Office has not yet issued a public response to Walwyn’s comments.
Primary source: BVI News