MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands extends payment increases to all FIG grades

The agreement ends a long dispute that started when the Falkland Islands Budget was announced and limited payment increases.

Following representations from Falkland Islands Government Officers, Members of Legislative Assembly reconsidered their budget decisions to not award increments to officers in grades C-A and agreed in Executive Council on July 3 to extend the award to include the payment of increments to all grades.

All other elements of the 2023/24 pay award remain unchanged.

The agreement ends a long dispute that started when the Falkland Islands Budget was announced. Two MLAs, Leona Roberts and Mark Pollard asked for “elements” of the 2023 Budget to be taken back to Budget Select Committee for further public consultation and engagement.

MLA Roberts had earlier noted that the 3% cost of living award (which included a one-off £1,500 payment to the lower paid grades) proposed for government employees did not reflect “the real terms increase which we know is 6.1% at September RPI”
She said of the one-off payment to low earners in FIG, “this is not a pay increase.”

She said the 3% gap between the award and cost of living would be carried forward in perpetuity and if this was repeated next year people’s real terms income would “fall further and further behind...”

She said although predictions had been for inflation to slow, she had not seen any predictions for deflation in the near future.