Hike in minimum wage ‘intentionally’ put off due to state of VI’s economy– Labour Minister
Honourable Wheatley made the disclosure while responding to questions from the press on Friday, March 25, 2022.
“I think there was a study done around 2014 that said it should be revised in five years, which would have been 2019, but then up came the hurricanes and the pandemic and the Commission of Inquiry (CoI),” he said.
He continued: “I don’t think businesses will like me right now if I decided to hike the minimum wage. The employees might like it but it is something we have to discuss. I have intentionally put it off until we get a bit more settled with our economy.”
Living wage
Minister Wheatley stated that the phrase “minimum wage” is an interesting concept but he would “like to move more towards a living wage.”
He further explained: “Because if you tell somebody to pay minimum wage there are those companies that will do just that. Sometimes your minimum wage may not be a living wage. Right now, I think it’s six dollars. If you really calculate what a person makes at minimum wage and look at house rents and the cost of goods and services, you can’t live on that. It’s not a living wage. But it’s a minimum wage and it is something that I have looked at personally for a period of time but you have to look at these things in the concept of what’s happening in the wider economy before we go trying to make the change from what it is right now. But had it all been equal and no hurricanes and no pandemic, yes, I probably would have advanced that a long time ago.”
Meanwhile Premier and Minister of Finance Hon Andrew A. Fahie (R1) said this was one of the reasons why his government is providing the various economic stimulus on fuel and Customs duties at this time, “Because we realise it is very hard on families; we recognise that it is a struggle.”
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22 Responses to “Hike in minimum wage ‘intentionally’ put off due to state of VI’s economy– Labour Minister”
Never looking out for the small man.
Now more than ever the wages need to go up. People cant survive on this low income.
Democratic elected governments are elected all over the world by the majority poor, but when it's come to money, they are made to suffer greatly, in the name economy weakness.
"BVI LOVE": sweet song to the ears of some, but minimum wages hike to the needy is been overlooked by most rich, and the greedy in the British Virgin islands. Good governance? No, Downpressive behaviors, yes.
My personal opinion has been expressed unselfishly. Respect same. Thank you kindly.
This man either needs a PR Manager stat! Did he really utter these words with the expectation that they would be palatable? Moreso, as the Minister responsible for Labour? Well I neva...
BVI needs to shed the customary practice of hiring the cheapest and start hiring the best and what is the most sustainable for best and most progressive, successful business in the BVI.
Cost of living in the BVI won't change, It is high and will always be high but to think that governments can fix that problem by just raising minimum wage is foolish.
1) Research and publish a pricing index annually - the large firms in the territory use this to benchmark wages. Since we don’t have one this is an excuse for not raising the wages of their employees.
2) Make it mandatory to publish annual salaries when advertising for job vacancies, especially when this is used for work permit applications. If you work the same job in the Cayman Islands you will literally get paid 3x what you get paid in the BVI because wages are kept quiet here and this is required in the Cayman. Salaries will increase as a result as they will have to meet public demand based on what other companies are paying.