The April 1 introduction of the minimum wage in Barbados is no joke, Prime Minister Mia Mottley declared Monday even as she warned against any attempts to raise prices.
“And therefore come April as promised, April 1 will not be an April Fool’s joke, for those earning minimum wages in this country. It will be a new deal, not an April’s fool joke, she said while delivering the 2021-2022 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure.
The minimum wage is set to increase from $6.25 to $8.50 an hour or $340 per week.
The Prime Minister told lawmakers she has been hearing the concerns about the proposed pay hike but insisted Government must stand by the country’s most vulnerable to ensure they have “a fair wage or even a livable wage”.
“There are some wages that some people cannot support their families on and that is why this Government is making the decision to go this route,” she said.
Mottley insisted the move would produce benefits all around, noting that the added disposal income for workers would be spent and therefore circulate in the economy.
There have been some fears in the business community that an across-the-board minimum wage, would severely affect their profits, which are already under pressure from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
But the Prime Minister did not mince words about any move to raise prices.
Mottley said: “So that those people who want to arbitrarily, even before this thing is given a chance carry up prices, rest assured we have eyes, we have hands, we have a voice and we have Parliament.
“I am not going to agree that people are going to be unfaired in this country because this Government is doing the right thing which should have been done by a government of Barbados to protect those at the bottom of the working chain in this country with unreasonably low wages.”
She revealed that the process was almost complete, disclosing that the proposal has already been examined by a blue-ribbon committee, Cabinet, and published in accordance with legislation.
The PM declared: “This week, I look forward to Cabinet receiving, therefore, the draft order that will complete the process… the time is now to consummate the deal with ordinary working Barbadians who have little or no options other than to rely on a Government intervening on their own behalf.”
General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union Toni Moore has suggested that the $8.50 rate is still “significantly below” the amount necessary for low-income earners to live with dignity but stressed the union was willing to work with the figure as a starting point.
Executive Director of the Barbados Employers’ Confederation (BEC) Sheena Mayers-Granville has argued that most employers acknowledge that $6.25/hour is too low. But she suggested a gradual approach to the increase would have been a better option for businesses in light of the current environment.
(SD)
