Labour ministry to push minimum pay standards for construction sector

The Ministry of Labour is set to press the Minimum Wage Board to examine pay standards and working conditions in the construction sector, signalling a potential expansion of minimum wage regulation beyond existing national and sectoral rates.

Labour Minister Colin Jordan disclosed the move while responding to concerns raised by the Barbados Employers’ Confederation (BEC) over the government’s decision to implement a two per cent increase in the national minimum wage and the sectoral rate for security guards.

“I will also be asking the Minimum Wage Board to address serious concerns in the construction sector and look toward establishing minimum rates of pay and conditions of work for various job functions in that sector,” the minister said in a statement issued on January 1. “The BEC is aware of the less-than-fair practices in some areas of that sector, and I am sure it will support this important step.”

The announcement comes amid public debate over the government’s decision to proceed with predetermined minimum wage increases for 2025 and 2026, which the BEC has argued should be guided exclusively by the recommendations of the Minimum Wage Board after a full review of economic data and stakeholder consultations.

While noting that the board would continue its work on indexation, Jordan defended the government’s approach, stressing that incremental increases were necessary to protect low-income workers amid rising costs of living.

“Government, through the Ministry of Labour, is conscious of the need of workers in this country to be able to live while they contribute to the organisations they work for and to national development,” he said. “I have said before, people must be able to eat. They must be able to keep body and soul together.”

Jordan noted that inflationary pressures were affecting all segments of society, but said those at the bottom of the earnings scale were particularly vulnerable.

“Everyone is facing some level of inflationary pressure and those at the very bottom of the earning ladder must be able to provide for themselves and provide for their dependents,” he said.

The minister also rejected suggestions that the government had sidelined the Minimum Wage Board, pointing out that there were no increases to the national minimum wage during the four-year period following its introduction in April 2021.

“I ask the Barbados Employers’ Confederation (BEC) not to be disingenuous in the matter of the upcoming increase in the national minimum wage by calling for the Minimum Wage Board to be allowed to do its work,” he said.

“I do not recall public outcries from the BEC for the Board to be allowed to do its work during the four-year, 2021 to 2025, period when there was no increase after the April 1, 2021 establishment of the national minimum wage and a sectoral rate for security guards.”

He maintained that the administration remained committed to balancing worker protection with business sustainability, describing protection and production as “two sides of the same coin”.

“Our people-centred government will never retreat from protecting the working people of this country so that they can be in a position to produce for businesses and for the country,” he said.

Jordan added that predictable, incremental adjustments were in the interest of employers as well, allowing businesses time to absorb higher labour costs.

“We also believe that incremental changes allow businesses to smooth out and better adjust to increases in costs. Additionally, businesses like predictability,” he said.

While the Minimum Wage Board continues to examine longer-term indexation mechanisms, Jordan said Cabinet would review its recommendations once that process is complete. In the interim, he said, the government would not delay modest adjustments aimed at ensuring workers can meet basic needs.

“The Minimum Wage Board will continue its work on indexation. When that work is complete, the Cabinet will examine it and make decisions at that point,” he said. “In the meantime, workers must be able to eat.”