Minimum wage ‘to get review’

The Minister of Labour is to reconvene the Minimum Wages Board for a comprehensive review of the minimum wage, he announced Wednesday, days after unions called for a review while another union leader queried whether there was any pay floor at all.

But the minister was already anticipating that the review would likely lead to raising the benchmark from $8.50 an hour, taking into account improvements in the country’s economic fortunes.

“A minimum wage is exactly what it says,” he told Barbados TODAY. “A minimum wage. You can take care of three or four children, and do a little extra lessons for one in class four.

“You can’t do that with an $8.50 [per hour] pay if you have bills and utilities to pay.”

Jordan said the minimum wage, while serving as a crucial benchmark, is not a static entity. He noted that periodic reassessment was essential to ensure it remained aligned with economic realities and continued to fulfil its intended purpose.

He said: “It is what it says a minimum and from time to time, minimums have to be looked at. We’ll be looking to reactivate the Minimum Wage Board shortly; I can’t give an exact time on that but I can tell you shortly, and they will take into consideration the same things we took into consideration in setting it in the first place.

“What are the price levels, what is the change, what do you think the economy, the broad economy can afford? All of those things will be taken into consideration. It is a tripartite board, so the government will be represented by employers and workers.  They will all be represented, talk it through and you make a decision.”

Acknowledging the call for reassessment by fellow government MP Toni Moore, the Barbados Workers Union general secretary, the labour minister stressed there was a commitment on the government’s part to periodic reviews, which was already in place.

“The minimum wage came into being in 2021 and this is 2024 . . . three years on,” he said. “We did it on April 1, 2021. So we are approaching the three-year mark which is a good time to look at it again because things have changed including prices.  The question becomes, should it still be that number? Right, $8.50 [per hour]  generally and $9.25 [per hour] for security officers.

“So, [Ms Moore] is calling for us to look at the national minimum wage again which is what is supposed to happen.  You are supposed to look at it periodically because you don’t set it and it remains in stone.  You set it and then periodically adjust it and the government has already made a commitment to revisit and review it periodically. We have not yet set a date but we’ve committed to review it periodically.”

Reflecting that similar challenges were faced in 2021 when the minimum wage was introduced, he said resistance may arise as businesses raise concerns about higher running costs. Drawing on his business background, he told Barbados TODAY that he empathises with the difficulties of incorporating additional costs.  But he quoted from the Philadelphia Declaration which sets out the key principles that embody the International Labour Organisation as the economic counterpart of the United Nations.

He said: “Labour is not a commodity. Labour is the output of workers. Workers are human beings. You can’t treat a worker like you treat a very expensive piece of equipment. Trying to determine the value of your worker is always gonna be very difficult, but one thing that is certain is that for a worker to turn up every day and give you their best, they have to at least be able to put food on the table, clothes on the back, pay their bills and afford transportation.

“So when prices go up, in order for the business to function, the workers have to be able to function. The price of a piece of equipment, if it goes up, if that is your business, if that equipment is necessary for your organisation, then you have to find a way to afford it, if it’s a critical piece. Business organisations do what they have to in order to be able to afford the necessary things to make sure that the business can function. One of those necessary things must be to make sure that people who are working for you can afford a decent standard of living.”

The minister further underscored the importance of recognising the essential humanity of workers and advocating for a minimum wage that allows individuals to maintain a decent standard of living.

“It is not to say that you are paying somebody to be able to buy Mercedes or BMW or go on a cruise every year, but a person has been able to look after the dependents, look after themselves, pay their bills, food, clothes, keep a roof over their heads, basic things.  That has to be factored in when a business is developing its business plan.   We have to recognise the essential humanity of the worker and at least give what is a minimum,” he said.

“That was the same thinking behind establishing the Clauses for Construction last year and the Labour Clauses Concessions Bill that was to be done in the Senate [Wednesday].  But that’s essentially the essence behind that as well.  Just recognising the humanity of people. Everybody can always get what they want.”

The minister drew parallels with other initiatives, such as the Clauses for Construction, which were designed to uphold the humanity of workers. The commitment to periodic reviews and adjustments remains a cornerstone of ensuring fairness and progress, he said.

“We set the minimum where everybody can live,” said Jordan. “So the minimum that we set in construction is lower than what CO Williams pays.  They are the highest payers, but we can not set for CO Williams because they are smaller operators. So you set the minimum at an affordable level for everybody. But it is what it says — a minimum.”

The National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) on Monday backed Moore’s stance last week as she took her grievances to the floor of the House of Assembly, highlighting the Minimum Wage Board’s stagnation over the past three years. She emphasised that the existing wage served merely as a starting point and urged for comprehensive discussions on its revision.

But the trade union umbrella, the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB), remained sceptical about the existence of a meaningful minimum wage in the country.

“I don’t share the view that there is a minimum wage,” CTUSAB General Secretary Dennis De Peiza told Barbados TODAY.

“There is a minimum wage applied to some sections of workers such as security guards and the current $8.25 basically applies to shop assistants, and that extends to include gas service attendants. But can you really call that a minimum wage because we have so many different sectors of workers.”

He added: “If you look at what salaries and wages are paid to the different category of workers, certainly that figure you consider a minimum wage couldn’t be applicable. So, I would want to ask, do we really have a minimum wage?” (RG)