The news of a rise in the minimum wage to at least $300 per week will be a welcome one for public workers – and beyond if the private sector follows suit.
But it does seem a surprising move – particularly at this moment in time.
We have a hurricane-sized hole in our finances, and the cost of rebuilding Grand Bahama and Abaco to come, so there must have been some serious bean counting going on to work out if we can afford to increase the minimum wage right now.
It’s also a surprise given that it appears to have come despite a wave of government denials.
In August, Finance Minister Peter Turnquest said the government had not given any detailed consideration to increasing the minimum wage. Hurricane Dorian hit two weeks later, throwing all kinds of consideration awry.
At the same time, National Tripartite Council member Peter Goudie said that talk the council was debating a minimum wage increase was “unequivocally not true”. He said: “There has been no discussion on it, and I’m the one who led all the research last time on the minimum wage when it was increased from $150 to $210 per week. We had considered the idea of reviewing of every couple of years but, because inflation is low and the economy as we all know is awful, it’s not been on our agenda.”
Union leaders in August were wanting a rise to between $250 and $300 – the government is looking to make that $300 the lower level of their considerations, and even raising it to perhaps $350.
A minimum wage increase is a complex issue – of course, workers deserve to be properly paid for the employment they provide, and that means they should be able to go home with enough money that they don’t have to worry where their next meal is coming from or of how much they can afford to put a roof over their head.
This column has in the past also called for consideration of a living wage proposal – a figure higher than the minimum wage which could be used as an aspiration for businesses to aim for, and which would factor into consideration for contracts from government, which would go to businesses that paid their workers better.
If the government has done its figures, and can afford a minimum wage increase, then it is a positive thing for those workers earning the lowest wages.
But we do wonder – given how determinedly previous talk of a rise was shrugged off – if this truly is affordable right now. We welcome the move – but we don’t want to risk the economy at this most delicate moment either.
Do your sums carefully, Mr Turnquest. There’s a lot riding on them.
Safety first
A boy is in hospital tonight – injured after he played with a gun he found in a relative’s home.
He and another child found the gun inside the home and were playing with it when it went off. We are lucky that the boy is alive. We hope he makes a full recovery.
Guns in the home are not to be taken lightly. If you have one, it must be secured. It shouldn’t be kept loaded, either. It is a weapon and a danger – and should be respected. Safety should be the first goal of any gun owner.
So if you have one? Lock it away. Keep it unloaded until it’s ready to use.
These children just wanted to play – it’s for adults to make sure that dangerous toys are kept well out of reach.
Comments
John 4 years, 4 months ago
It is a political ploy where the government is pandering to the masses, without giving any real solutions to the problems. The wage increase in the public sector will affect a minimal amount of workers because most of government employees require a certain skill set that puts their paygrade above minimum wage. But in the private sector, the majority of workers are at entry-level and minimum wage earners. And after a 60 percent rise in the minimum wage barely 5 years ago, many businesses cannot afford another 40% raise especially in light of the 10% increase expected in BPL electricity bills. And with no real growth in the economy for almost a decade, where is the additional revenue coming from? So government who has religiously and mercilessly raised taxes is now shifting the focus from itself to employers many of whom have been long-suffering and will have to close shop if this 43% pay raise is implemented. And will workers who receive this pay increase under the present economic conditions (no growth in the economy) be any better off? NO, because businesses that survive the raise will find themselves having to increase prices even more to compensate. and so up goes the cost of living in the country again..Food prices thru the roof. And guess what happens when prices increase? the VAT also increases..SOOOo . Government will be the biggest benefactor in this whole fiasco..because, at the end of the day they will be receiving more VAT taxes!
BahamaPundit 4 years, 4 months ago
Who else feels like The Bahamas is reverting back into a fishing village and these are desperate moves?
The_Oracle 4 years, 4 months ago
I would put it to readers that Mr. Turnquest is not behind this move: Political leadership is. That is, what passes for leadership these days. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Inflation is one, and with the B$ having only $0.68c/U.S. dollar in purchasing power this requires more consideration than Government possesses. To revert to a fishing village might be a blessing, to go beyond and below that, a curse.
TalRussell 4 years, 4 months ago
Yeah, no, frankly, the minimum livable wage should be raised to double what it is today and shouldn't be based upon weekly wage.
A comrade employee's minimum wage should apply regardless of how the employee is paid – hourly, salary, commission or on an incentive basis. When a employee's wage falls below the minimum wage as set down in law a employee's earnings should not fall below that that which is equal to the minimum wage. You cant make up a better argument that it was under the Pindling administrations which witnessed the greatest shifting of wealth ever in colony's long history over to the massive increase in the share number PopoulacesOrdinary ever to move on up and over to join the ranks of the more whiter middle class. Fair say that Pindling went to the mat to battle for the day when doors would be open to both blacks, and conchy joe's to begin to benefit from the better paying jobs and business opportunities which had long been previously closed to them ... and, Pindling managed accomplished it all in the quiet and orderly way he went about doing things.
John 4 years, 4 months ago
Basically government is telling workers their wages should be based strictly on their needs and not what contributions they make to their employers. So the employees can drive a BMW whilst the employers drive a bubbler.
mandela 4 years, 4 months ago
If the minimum wage is not increased, then the cost of living must go down. Simple
birdiestrachan 4 years, 4 months ago
These FNM fellows can not even get their lies straight, The Editorial page of the tribune should do what they can to help their party.
Why not do a Debra Thompson call all in and fix the lie.
bahamianson 4 years, 4 months ago
No, just let the employees become the employer and they to, can drive a BMW. we are on a Hamster Wheel to nowhere. Salaries increases, VAT increases,bread increases, bus fare increases,Jr. and Sr. Doctor's salaries increases, NIB contributions increases, Police record increases, Electrical bill increases, everything increases , and there is only a limited amount of people in one country. Where is the money continuously going to come from? We need to find oil , so we can have universal basic income because otherwise, it is not looking good.
BONEFISH 4 years, 4 months ago
This government is in this bind because of their own choices.The hike in the vat rate has lead to increase inflation.The cost of living has gone up.This affects the poor and people with fixed incomes the most.They are reacting to the cries from the ground.Their allies and supporters in the business community mainly oppose an increase in the minimum wage. They are caught between these two groups.They were warned by experts this may happen.
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