The Treasury Department has commenced what officials describe as the final phase of retroactive pay disbursements to public servants, covering the period January 2018 to December 2023, with outstanding teacher upgrade payments expected to be issued by the end of Thursday.

Director General for Communications in the Prime Minister’s Office, Maurice Merchant, disclosed at Thursday’s post-Cabinet media briefing that payments are being processed in phases via electronic funds transfer, as final amounts are verified by ministries and departments.

Merchant clarified that the current disbursements do not represent an additional retroactive payment but rather the remaining balances owed to public servants who did not receive their full entitlements during the first two phases of the programme.

“Some persons were owed a balance and so now the Treasury is working on giving those persons who did not receive all of their retroactive payments the remaining balance,” he said.

To date, total disbursements across the first two phases have exceeded $4.6 million, excluding payments still being processed for certain government offices.

No statutory deductions have been applied to the retroactive payments, in keeping with Cabinet’s earlier directive on the matter.

Cabinet was also advised that the Treasury is prioritising the finalisation of outstanding payments owed under the teacher upgrade programme.

“These payments are being prioritised with the Treasury aiming to issue the outstanding sums by the end of today, Thursday, once all final checks are completed,” Merchant said.

Provisions have also been made for eligible individuals who have since left the public service, allowing them to receive their payments upon submission of the required information to the Treasury.

When asked whether statutory corporations and entities such as the hospital were included in the current disbursements, Merchant indicated the information available to him suggested they were not listed among the initial payments, as those institutions largely manage their payroll from internal sources.

He noted the matter would be investigated further.