Pay raises for teachers, firefighters, corrections officers and other employees were included in a revised fiscal plan approved Thursday that will serve as Puerto Rico’s economic blueprint criticized by some as the island emerges from bankruptcy, the Associated Press reported. A federal control board that oversees the U.S. territory’s finances noted that many government workers have not seen a pay raise since 2014, a year before Puerto Rico announced it was unable to pay its more than $70 billion public debt load accumulated over decades through mismanagement, corruption and excessive borrowing to balance budgets. The fiscal plan was approved a week after a federal judge signed another plan to slash the island’s debt after a nearly five-year bankruptcy battle, marking the largest debt restructuring in U.S. history. It goes into effect March 15. “This is a very important moment for (Puerto Rico),” the fiscal plan stated. “For the first time in years, it can manage its resources without the cloud of uncertainty of bankruptcy.” Teachers will see an average increase of 27% compared with what they earned in fiscal year 2019, firefighters 17% and correctional officers 15%. Even medical residents will see a 20% increase, their first since 2003.
