VI residents spend more on housing & utilities than food- Minimum Wage Report
In fact, it unearthed that residents of the VI spend a whopping 50% of money earned on house rent and utilities such as electricity, water, telephone and cable.
The Report was laid on the table of the House of Assembly by Labour Minister Dr The Honourable Kedrick D. Pickering (R7) on November 2, 2015 making it a public document.
The monthly expenditure on the basic needs of a typical household of three persons (two adults and one child) was the method used, and phone call interviews were conducted, according to the Report.
Besides housing and utilities topping the list of where residents’ money goes, food came in second with transportation and communications third.
The Poor suffering in the VI
Many residents, especially the poor, continue to voice their concern about the high cost of living in the VI, along with the lack of price control or any consumer protection agency in place to regulate the goods and services sector.
The last increase on the minimum wage in the VI was in 1999 from $3.00 to $4.00 per hour. The report confirmed that “since then the cost of food, goods and other services, along with the increase in taxes and other fees, have risen significantly.”
The Minimum Wage Advisory Committee Report also confirmed on page 31 that “families working in low-wage jobs make insufficient income to survive given the cost of living in the Virgin Islands. Consequently, many adults must seek public assistance, or hold multiple jobs to afford to feed, clothe, house and provide medical care for themselves and their families."
The Minimum Wage Committee recommended an increase to the minimum wage from $4.00 to $6.00. However, the National Democratic Party (NDP) Government has not brought the amendment to the Labour Code to give effect to this increase.
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21 Responses to “VI residents spend more on housing & utilities than food- Minimum Wage Report”
Low property tax, your housing, electric,gas,water ,telephone payments will be higher than your grocery monthly,unless you cannot stop eating everything in sight and wind up looking grotesque ,more than plump, like the average Black person in the BVI.
So desperate to be labelled as a poverty stricken bunch,talking pure nonsense.
The true fact is that some of us are born losers.
1. can someone on minimum wage please list the food that you buy for a month totaling $235?
2. what kind of clothing and shoes that cost $57 is that an installment plan?
3. Medical supplies at $14.58, Nyquil is $18, do they use natural herbs?
4. under which one of these are cleaning supplies? or is that all natural too?