The 2025 to 2028 public sector pay agreement, explained
30 September 2026
The Ministry of Finance and the Public Service has published salary scales for monthly-paid staff covering April 2025 to March 2028. Here’s what they mean in practice.
No increase in April 2025
The scale the agreement calls “Existing” is the rate that took effect in April 2024. It stayed in force through March 2026, so there was no pay rise in April 2025.
5% in April 2026, and 5% again in April 2027
Every step of every scale rises by 5% on 1 April 2026 and by another 5% on 1 April 2027. Together that’s an increase of about 10.3% on the existing rates.
How the scales work
- Every job sits on a grade (like GMG/AM 3) and each grade belongs to a pay band, from Band 2 to Band 14.
- Each grade has 13 steps, each 2.5% above the one before. Most people start at step 1 and move up over time.
An example: GMG/AM 3 (Pay Band 5)
GMG/AM 3 covers jobs like Administrative Assistant and Public Procurement Officer. The minimum of its scale:
| Rate | Minimum salary a year |
|---|---|
| Existing (since April 2024) | J$2,190,302 |
| From 1 April 2026 | J$2,299,817 |
| From 1 April 2027 | J$2,414,808 |
See every step of GMG/AM 3, or find your own grade in the full list of pay grades.
Looking back
Before this agreement, scales rose by about 13% in April 2023 and again in April 2024. From April 2022 to April 2027, the typical grade’s starting salary rises by about 41%. See the pay trends for more.
Source: Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Salary Scales for Monthly Paid Staff, April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2028. Some grades were re-evaluated and rise by more than 5%; their pages note this.