Finance Minister Marinka Gumbs.
PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Finance, Marinka Gumbs, announced on Tuesday evening that long-awaited two per cent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which was granted to civil servants in September 2024, has been disbursed to subsidised schools as of last week.
She said it is now the responsibility of the schools to ensure that these payments are made to the teachers.
The Minister empathises with the challenges faced by subsidised school teachers due to the delayed payment of the 1% vacation allowance increase, the 1% COLA paid out in December 2023 to civil servants, and the recently disbursed 2% COLA indexation. These delays occurred because the necessary allocations were not included in the 2024 budget.
Looking ahead, the Minister of Finance assures teachers that provisions for the 2% COLA and the 1% vacation allowance increase for the year 2025 have been included in the 2025 budget.
The Minister reaffirms her commitment to keeping subsidised school teachers informed on any developments and thanks them for their patience throughout this process.
