A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has backed the High Court challenge over alleged underpayments to minimum-rate National Insurance Scheme pensioners and called on the government and the National Insurance Board to promptly settle any arrears found to be due.
In a statement, APNU said pension payments were legal entitlements rather than government favours and argued that Guyana’s economic growth must translate into greater financial security for its elderly citizens.
“These payments are not acts of charity or government favours; they are entitlements protected by law,” the partnership stated.
The judicial review application was filed on October 9 by attorney Christopher Ram, pensioner Kalicharan Heera, the Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers, the United Minibus Union and the Guyana Market Vendors Union, Kiskadee Watch reported. The applicants are represented by Ram and attorney Khemraj Ramjattan.
The applicants contend that Regulation 4(b) of the NIS Benefit Regulations requires the minimum old-age pension to be at least 50% of the Public Service minimum wage.
They calculate that the current minimum should therefore be $51,173 monthly, compared with the $43,075 being paid—a shortfall of $8,098. They estimate that persons who received the minimum pension throughout the relevant period since 2021 could each be owed approximately $510,300.
The application seeks a declaration that the statutory floor is mandatory, an order requiring payment at that rate, and an accounting and payment of arrears with interest, including sums due to the estates of deceased pensioners.
APNU said the matter had previously been raised in Parliament. It recalled that Annette Ferguson tabled a motion in 2024, seconded by Juretha Fernandes, seeking retroactive payments to minimum-rate pensioners for 2021 to 2023.
According to the partnership, Speaker Manzoor Nadir disallowed the motion, preventing parliamentary consideration of the issue. APNU accused the PPP/C administration of allowing the matter to remain unresolved.
“It is morally indefensible that in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, elderly Guyanese should be forced to approach the courts to obtain pension payments to which they contend they are legally entitled,” the statement said.
The partnership argued that rising oil revenues and economic growth should improve living standards and purchasing power, particularly for retirees facing higher household costs.
It said development must be measured not only by roads, bridges and buildings but also by the protection of legal rights and the provision made for poor, elderly and vulnerable citizens.
APNU called on the government and the Board to urgently review the claims, establish the extent of any outstanding entitlements, make the necessary financial provisions and introduce safeguards against future underpayments.
The court action followed an October 1 letter from Ram and 10 unions demanding that the Board account for alleged underpayments and identify and compensate affected pensioners.
As Kiskadee Watch reported, the letter said the regulation was amended in 2015 to raise the pension floor from 40% to 50% of the Public Service minimum wage. Ram contended that the requirement was last met in 2020, when the minimum wage was $70,000 and the minimum NIS pension was $35,000.
The letter also argued that subsequent pension increases did not extinguish arrears already accrued and questioned why retroactive Public Service wage increases had not produced corresponding pension adjustments.
NIS Chairman Ramesh Persaud declined to comment when contacted by Kiskadee Watch on October 5 about the demand. He said he had no comment on the matter at that time.
APNU said the NIS’s responsibility was to protect contributors and beneficiaries and that public institutions must be held accountable for fulfilling their statutory obligations.
“Our senior citizens deserve more than expressions of appreciation. They deserve fairness, respect, financial security and the full protection of the law,” it stated.
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