EDITOR, The Tribune.
I would like to thank Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis for increasing the minimum wage from $210 to $260. This is something that the Free National Movement should’ve done after increasing VAT from 7.5 percent to 12 percent. In an age of inflation and VAT on breadbasket items, the extra $50 is a much-needed help.
However, despite the increase not coming into effect in the private sector until January 2023, I understand that there are some bosses who are already putting measures in place to circumvent the increase, such as cutting hours.
One lady at a large firm informed me that her bosses are already crying “poor mouth” over the mandatory increase, despite being millionaires. These are women and men in their forties and fifties earning $210 per week or $5.25 an hour - pittance. I think it is the height of arrogance and insensitivity to rail at these Bahamians for not having a college degree.
The truth is, not every individual is afforded the same opportunities as the privileged. $210 can hardly buy sufficient groceries to feed a family of five, let alone pay rent and the utilities.
Families are having to decide which bill to pay and which grocery item they can do without.
I think the onus is now on the Davis government to counter the inevitable move by cheap bosses to avoid paying the $260, otherwise minimum waged workers will not benefit from the additional $50 the state has granted to them. The aforementioned firm can afford to pay the $260. The issue is its ownership, possibly a miserly Scrooge who lacks conscience.
KEVIN EVANS
Freeport, Grand Bahama
November 1, 2022.
Comments
bahamianson 1 year, 5 months ago
No , the onus is on everyone to start their own business and take the risks that come with this action. Stop complaining about minimum wage and start your own business. You will not have to worry about minimum wage then, you will worry about how you are going to pay your employees.
themessenger 1 year, 5 months ago
The onus is also on us as a people to lift ourselves through education, stop living beyond our means, learn to differentiate between want and need and understand that you can’t properly raise ten chirren on $250 a week.
joeblow 1 year, 5 months ago
... minimum wage is an entry level salary. People who are still making minimum wage after 2 years have no one to blame but themselves. An individual must choose to improve their lot in life, not rely on others to do it for them.
bahamianson 1 year, 5 months ago
Exactly, Joeblow and the messenger .
sheeprunner12 1 year, 5 months ago
The only way around this curse of "minimum wage" is to create a law mandated wage rate based on a person's age, schooling, and on-the-job experience.
Say for example, a cashier who has worked on a job for 5 years, with a high school diploma and has since earned a City & Guilds diploma should not be making minimum wage in years 6-10. Thereafter, their wages should increase by 5 to 10% at every 5 years interval.
Same thing should apply to any field of work. Minimum wage should not apply to people over 25. Hence, no worker should be making minimum wage at 18 and still be doing so at 30, 40 or 50.
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