Vialet Reintroduces Bill to Raise Government Employees’ Salaries From $27K to $32K Starting October 2026

Senator Kurt Vialet is again proposing to increase the minimum annual salary for full time employees of the Government of the Virgin Islands, its semi-autonomous agencies and independent instrumentalities from $27,040 to $32,000.  The St. Croix senator first introduced the bill in December 2022, one of his final measures as a member of the 34th Legislature. Then Bill 34-0388, the figures were identical to what he now proposes three years later. The measure was vetoed by Governor Albert Bryan Jr. In February 2023, he was quoted as saying that “a retroactive increase after the conclusion of the government’s budget approval process and without proper cost analyses is simply financially irresponsible…Most government employees are members of collective bargaining agreements, which are negotiated through their union representatives. Mandating pay outside these negotiated contractual agreements would destabilize the government pay systems and create a multitude of inequities.” Next week, la...