VIDEO: More Than 90% of Public Sector Back Pay Has Been Paid, EC$30 million in April alone

Prime Minister Gaston Browne says the government has already paid more than 90% of outstanding back pay owed to eligible public sector workers, with remaining cases delayed mainly because of incomplete documentation.

Speaking on Pointe FM, Browne said the government disbursed more than EC$30 million in back pay during April as part of efforts to settle outstanding obligations to public servants.

The prime minister said a small number of cases remain unresolved because supporting records have not yet been fully submitted to the Treasury.

According to Browne, Financial Secretary Rasona Davis-Crump has already been instructed to work with ministries and departments to clear the outstanding matters and process the remaining payments.

Browne said the Treasury cannot release payments without the necessary supporting documentation and maintained that the delays were administrative rather than financial.

He also defended the government’s broader handling of public sector wages, insisting that salaries have continued to be paid on time.

“We have never paid salaries and wages late ever,” Browne said during the programme.

Back pay and salary arrears have remained politically sensitive issues in Antigua and Barbuda, particularly among public sector workers awaiting payments linked to salary adjustments and previous agreements.

The Browne administration has argued that improved government revenues and economic growth have strengthened the state’s ability to settle long-standing obligations while maintaining regular payroll commitments.

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