HGP Nightly News – The absence of a public sector salary increase and the adequacy of tax relief for workers emerged as central points of contention during the 2026 budget debates, following a pointed presentation by We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) Member of Parliament Nandranie Singh.
In a direct challenge to the budget’s “Putting People First” theme, MP Singh argued that the document fails its central test, stating, “Were the people truly put first when all they received was a meager $10,000 increase in the income tax threshold?” She calculated this adjustment provides a worker earning $200,000 per month with only an additional $2,500 in take-home pay, a sum she dismissed as insufficient to purchase basic groceries.
Singh anchored her argument in official data, citing the government’s own 2025 mid-year report which noted a 2.9% increase in the Consumer Price Index, driven by rising food costs. Against this backdrop of inflation, she framed stagnant wages as a deepening hardship. “The working class people of this country face hardship and pressure every single day,” she stated, “Yet they are being asked to observe the rising cost while their wages remain stagnant.”
A central pillar of her argument highlighted the substantial tax contributions of ordinary workers. Singh revealed that income tax alone contributes $71 billion to national revenue, juxtaposing this massive figure against the lack of corresponding wage growth. “In a $1.558 trillion budget,” she asserted, “the national minimum wage has not moved by a single dollar.”
Her critique extended beyond the public sector to include private sector workers, noting the private sector minimum wage has remained unchanged for over three years. She pointed to calls from both major trade union bodies and the Private Sector Commission for increases and parity, arguing the government has “no excuse for inaction.”
Singh concluded by reiterating her party’s manifesto commitments, including a 50% increase for public servants and raising the income tax threshold to $200,000. She framed the current budget not as a document of empowerment, but as a testament to a government she described as “reactive rather than proactive,” failing to deliver tangible financial relief to the citizens financing the nation’s historic development.
