Prime Minister announces increase in pensions, wages and state welfare funding

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday announced an increase in pensions, salaries for school staff and public funding for health and social programs, while announcing the construction of a 7,000-apartment residential block for displaced families and renovation of 500 public schools. “soon”.

Speaking at the Council of Ministers, the head of government once again named education among the “top priorities” and said that from January all school staff – teachers in public secondary schools and professional as well as resource officers – would see an increase in its salaries, supplements and hourly wage, the change also affecting kindergarten staff and “all civil servants”.

Education is my government’s top priority. Salaries and allowances for public school teachers and resource officers will increase. The salaries of administrative staff in public schools will increase by 10%, as for all civil servants,” the prime minister said.

Garibashvili also noted that the renovation of 500 public schools – part of a large-scale project that covers the construction and renovation of 800 schools across the country – would start in January, with 300 million allocated from the budget.

The pension will increase for people living in the mountainous regions of Georgia. Toucheti on the photo. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.

Fiscal funding for health and social programs will increase by ₾770 million ($270 million) from January, he revealed, in addition to announcing that pensions for citizens aged 70 and over would reach 440 ₾ ($154) in mountainous settlements and 365 ₾ ($128). ) somewhere else.

The prime minister noted that pensions for upland residents under the age of 70 would increase to ₾355 ($128), while for those in other regions, they would increase to nearly ₾300 ($105).

We have also decided to increase monthly social assistance for severely disabled people by ₾65 ($23), while other disabled people will also receive increased budget support,” Garibashvili said.

The Prime Minister noted that his government had tripled child welfare packages from ₾50 ($18) to ₾150 ($53), and said “we have plans to secure a further increase, and we will announce later”.

Speaking of the IDPs, Garibashvili said ₾250 million ($88 million) had been allocated for the construction of the new block of flats for internally displaced families.