Caddle defends minimum wage over private sector concerns

Economic Affairs and Investment Minister Marsha Caddle has dismissed notions in the private sector that now is not the best time to implement a minimum wage.

Warning that “the time has come for us to stop sacrificing workers on the altar of business efficiency and profits”, Caddle indicated that had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic the proposed minimum wage would have likely been higher.

Government is proposing a national minimum wage of $8.50 per hour and a minimum wage for security guards of $9.25 per hour, which is to become effective April 1.

But some private sector organizations, while joining labour unions in welcoming a national minimum wage, have warned that the timing was perhaps not the best.

At the same time, the umbrella Barbados Private Sector Association welcomed the proposal, saying it should result in increased productivity.

But speaking in Parliament on Tuesday as she participated in the debates on the 2020-2021 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, Caddle was adamant that now was the perfect time for a minimum wage given that individuals were struggling economically.

Caddle declared: “This is exactly the right time in the context of COVID-19, when far too many people are struggling, to look at the question of a minimum wage. It is precisely the right time. I don’t know when could be a better time.”

She agreed that efficiency and productivity were critical, but said “it includes whether they can feed themselves, it includes whether they can give themselves and their families nutritious food, see the doctor when they are sick and send their children safely to school. A person who cannot do all those things cannot be productive”.

This comes a day after Prime Minister Mia Mottley also made a case for the April 1 introduction of the proposed minimum wage.

Caddle said Government had not even taken into consideration the notion of “a fair wage”, warning that if this had been the case then “we would be talking about a wage that is far higher than what is being proposed”.

“What we are actually looking at is just a minimum wage which is just that. It is the very minimum income below which people simply cannot survive,” she said.

The current minimum wage, which was put in place in 2012 and only applies to shop assistants, is $6.25.

Caddle argued that while the cost of living had increased over the past nine years, the wages of many individuals have not kept pace. She also argued that the poverty line in Barbados was estimated at just over $630 per month per person.

“That means if you are earning less than that and have to pay for food and other things you are defined as poor, which means that you cannot meet your basic needs,” she said, pointing out that the situation was then made worse if four or more people were relying on one income that was $250 per week.

Caddle indicated that most of those currently working for minimum wage were single female-headed households and those between the ages of 20 and 49.

Admitting that “this is a difficult time for both private and public sector”, she said, “if it is a difficult time for business imagine how difficult it is for households”.

She said there will always be apprehension, but reasoned that “in almost every case” a minimum wage increase has had a positive effect on economies since paying workers more would equate to more spending in a number of areas.

“Sometimes we think in these silo ways and I feel as if we do not always fully appreciate the interconnected nature of these different sectors of the economy. If we did not have people being able to support themselves and their families there would be no human capital based on which the private sector could build and grow business and improve profits” said Caddle.

She said she was compelled to speak on the issue “because it seems as if there are some who would have us abandon any attempt to make sure that people’s work pays them enough to keep them above the poverty level”. (MM)