Humphrey: New minimum wage will help many

Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey, has welcomed the recently announced increase in the national minimum wage, set to take effect on June 1.

Calling it a necessary step in the government’s broader strategy to uplift vulnerable Barbadians and improve overall living standards, Humphrey said periodic increases to keep up with the cost of living were promised by the government sometime ago.

The minister was speaking on the sidelines of a donation event at Bay Primary School—where he provided over 11 items to support students.

The new wage order, which Minister of Labour Colin Jordan said will take effect on June 1, will see the national minimum wage move from $8.50 to $10.50 per hour. The increase will also apply to security officers, who are covered under a sectoral minimum wage.

“It was to be expected,” he said. “We had put in place a transitional amount…in between the increases, and I think that increase that we announced yesterday in combination with the fact that unemployment is actually down [is good]. There are a number of persons who are now working who previously were not working, and are reaping the benefits of the economic growth in the country.”

However, Humphrey said, minimum wage policies mean little to those still out of work, which means that easy access to training programmes remains a necessity.

He explained, “Minimum wage doesn’t matter to a person who’s unemployed.  So essentially, we have to get the persons who are… in need of support to be working. And that is where we’ve been focusing so much on: increasing skills, improving attitude while at the workplace, and so on, so that people can join the workforce in the first place.

“But I’m satisfied that the increase is going to make a significant dent in terms of people who come forward to the ministry, and I also think that it is going to improve the standard of living for a number of persons, so I’m very happy that the increase has been announced.”

He acknowledged concerns that higher wages might lead some employers to cut staff or reduce hours to offset increased labour costs, but expressed confidence in the ongoing cooperation between the Government and private sector.

“I believe we’ve had a very good relationship with the employers over time, I think we understand what needs to be done,  I think they understand the state of the country, and I suspect that this increase is going to bring significant benefits to persons who need it the most,” he insisted.

(SB)