EDITORIAL: The minimum wage debate

In recent days the talk of the town has been the announcement from Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley of her Government’s intention to introduce a national minimum wage. It is a promise the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) made on the campaign trail in 2018, to raise the minimum wage to $8 an hour, and extend it to all categories of workers.

Since she made known the intention to still go this route, in spite of the prevailing economic conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been criticism from some in the private sector, who argue that to do such could result in even more layoffs or even the demise of some businesses. However PM Mottley is steadfast, and just Tuesday as she spoke in the House of Assembly, she said it was incomprehensible that persons are against the idea of a national minimum wage, when there is a “need to protect those at the very bottom of the earning scale in this country, whose jobs are nevertheless critical.”

PM Mottley was making the point that without those workers, among them gas station attendants, supermarket staff and cleaners, this country would have had an even harder time during the lockdown occasioned by the pandemic. And there is merit in that argument, for while those are jobs that some people generally look down on, COVID-19 has shown that those people are some of our most essential workers and they should be better paid for the work that they do.

Now in the absence of a national minimum wage, we have relied on the minimum wage for shop assistants to guide the wages of other workers, and even though that figure was raised from $200 to $250 per week in 2012, there can be no denying that given the current economic circumstances, even that figure is insufficient to adequately provide food, shelter and pay utilities. Eight years on, no one can deny that a mere $250 for 40 hours of work per week is not cutting it. The reality we must also face is that with the ever-rising cost of living, as a consequence the value of the minimum wage is falling. Add to that the fact that many of the people earning minimum wage in this country are women, and if we take into account that women head most of our households, a reasonable question is – how are these women able to properly provide for their families?

Back in 2012 when the minimum wage was increased, the then General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union, Sir Roy Trotman, suggested that the figure should be set above $300 a week. He also said at the time that while the increase was a step in the right direction, it should be seen only as an “interim measure” as $250 was still a “substandard level”, adding that for persons to properly contribute to the development of the country, the minimum wage should give those earning it the chance to be able to take care of their basic needs.

It can be argued that had persons been better paid, the impact of the lockdown and layoffs may not have hit some people as hard, as they may have had savings to rely on while awaiting their unemployment benefits. But, sadly for many, that was not the case.

So it is clear that things need to change, however, we must be cognisant that times are even tougher than when the BLP initially came to power and so jumping straight to $8 an hour for every sector, may not be feasible at this time. Furthermore $8 may not be enough. Certainly consideration may have to be given to implementing a system of annual wage reviews, as is done in some countries, where increases are applied as deemed necessary, taking such things as cost of living and inflation into account.

Government must also not bury its head in the sand, and consider that businesses which cannot afford, or those who flatly refuse to pay workers a higher minimum wage, may instead of laying them off cut their hours, such that their pay is no higher than what they were originally receiving. Particularly as it relates to the latter, the Administration must be willing to call them out on it, so that others do not follow suit.

Barbados Advocate

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