-as budget day loomsThe Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) wants government to consider the inclusion of a 25% salary increase for its members in the 2012 National Budget.The budget is due to be presented to Parliament on March 30.Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni SinghAccording to the union’s President,Cheap Jerseys USA, Patrick Yarde, it is also requesting that the ruling administration reduces personal income tax to 25% and an increase in the personal income tax threshold to $600,000 per annum.“The Guyana Public Service Union reiterates that tax reform in Guyana is both needed and necessary and that the Government of Guyana should review the level of taxation on income and consumer items. Even as we await the findings of the three-person committee established by the President on this matter, the Union calls for the setting up of a truly National Commission on Taxation that would draw on the expertise of major stakeholders and interest groups to inquire into all aspects of taxation in the country,” the union reasoned.Regarding the 25% increase in wages and salaries, GPSU in a statement explained that this would facilitate the upward movement in pay bands and eliminate bunching of all employees at the minimum of the salary scales.The union also urged that Government should consider the establishment of a non-contributory health insurance scheme for public servants and their families and substantial increases in advances to public officers who are entitled to loans to purchase motor vehicles in discharging their duties.Allowance increaseThere should also be substantial increases in a number of allowances- Travelling Allowance-last increased in 1995; Subsistence Allowance-last increased in 1995; Uniform Allowance – last increased in 2001; Meal Allowance-last increased in 1996 and Housing Allowance-last increased in 2009.Regarding the Public Sector Modernisation Project, the union proposes that resources be made available to continue and complete the project with specific focus on Human Resource Development, Technological Enhancement,Cheap Jerseys Wholesale, implementing and maintaining established standards of Occupational, Safety and Health and general improvement of the work environment.“The GPSU proposes that provisions be included in the 2012 Budget for a minimum increase of 50% in all pensions payable by the state and that NIS be encouraged to do likewise. This would go some way towards addressing the rather shameful situation that currently exists where, after working so many years in persistent poverty,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, senior citizens and retirees find themselves condemned to abject poverty while in retirement.”GPSU’s President, Patrick YardeIn the areas of housing,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, GPSU wants the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government to include an allocation in the budget that would cater for infrastructure for housing projects for low and middle income public servants, with specific emphasis on hinterland regional areas.“The GPSU urges that substantial funds be allocated for the New Amsterdam Psychiatric Hospital, in particular, and health institutions throughout Guyana, generally, so as to enhance the delivery of primary health care in all administrative regions.”Critchlow subventionGPSU also called for the re-instatement of the subvention to Critchlow Labour College and that substantial funds are allocated to enable the College to liquidate all existing liabilities and meet current expenditure.“The GPSU calls for the implementation of a vigorous campaign to root out the cancer of corruption, in whatever form or shape. The Guyana Public Service Union is prepared to work with the Government of Guyana to execute any exercise that is even handed and fair, for we feel that large amounts of revenue could be saved and made available to finance worthy programmes.”The union called on government to have meaningful engagements, as there have been consistent calls “for an all-embracing,Cheap Jerseys NFL China, long-term wage agreement that would obviate the need for yearly negotiations and ensure a predictable, transparent formula for increasing salaries and wages.”The union noted that in the 2011 National Budget, the Government could only allocate to workers,Cheap Stitched MLB Jerseys,? a mere $5,000 per month increase in the tax threshold, which translated to an increase in purchasing power of $1,667 monthly or $56 daily – less than the price of a quarter of a loaf of bread.“We argued that the take home would have been lessened by inflation, hikes in NIS and the VAT. As we predicted, many workers did not benefit from that