Last week Cabinet announced its decision to accept a recommendation from its Minimum Wages Council to increase the minimum wage to an across the board three dollars. The council began its work in May of last year and submitted its findings to Cabinet on December 29th. It's good news to nearly 16,000 workers who are paid the minimum wage and it became official at a press conference this afternoon.
Keith Swift Reporting,
As of April1st - the minimum wage for these shop assistants will be $3 an hour. That is 75 cents more per hour than they currently make. The per hourly wage for agricultural workers like these cane cutters in Corozal will increase by 25 cents on April 1st and by April 1st of 2010 - they too will be making $3 an hour. Carlos Santos chaired the Minimum Wages Council.
Carlos Santos, Wage Council's Chairman
"Finally we sat down together as a team and we played with the figures, talked to the people, and eventually came out with a figure which we thing is reasonable and is going to be acceptable. We are recommending that there be only one minimum wage rate for everybody, every worker. Right now there are two, we recommended that there be only one phased in between now and 2010. 2) We recommended the minimum wage be increased from $2.25 today for shop assistants and domestics to $3 within this year and to remain there for a while and to increase the minimum wage for agricultural workers from $2 to $2.50, $2.75 and gradually to $3."
Minister of Labor Francis Fonseca says the increase in minimum wage will be law as of April 1st and employees and more important employers should take note.
Hon. Francis Fonseca, Minister of Labor
"Obviously the recommendations of the Wages Council will become law. It has to be legislated so a statutory instrument changing the minimum wage will have to be signed into law. So as with every increase in minimum wage, once the law is in place, that law has to be enforced."
Keith Swift,
So when will they get the increase?
Hon. Francis Fonseca,
"Both agricultural workers, as I said from $2 to $2.50 and shop assistants and domestics from $2.25 to $3, will both be effective April 1."
Of course any increase in pay will be good for employees - but it will it be good for employers? Minister Fonseca was confident but the Chairman of his Wages Council wasn't convinced.
Carlos Santos,
"Yes I am concerned. I will hope that because the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry canvassed its own members and they themselves came up in their submission with a wage rate of $2.80 that we do not think that $0.20 will create that much of a backlash."
Keith Swift,
Has the Minister taking in to consideration the fact that an increase in the wage will lead to higher prices, especially in agriculture sector?
Hon. Francis Fonseca,
"Absolutely. At the end of the day what we have arrived at is an increase that has the support and the approval of everyone. Obviously workers and employees would have wanted a higher increase, that is obvious, and some in the agricultural sector would have liked it to be a lower wage rate increase. So what we have done is try to arrive at some consensus."
Keith Swift,
But won't this increase the cost of production for, say, our bananas and thereby increase the cost of our bananas?
Hon. Francis Fonseca,
"Those are exactly some of the questions we asked."
And it is a question no doubt you'll be asking the next time you go to the store: will an increase in the pay for shop assistants make your groceries more expensive? The answers may start to come after April first.
Managers of two major supermarkets we spoke with today knew nothing of the increase in the minimum wage. The last wage increase was in 2002 when the per hour wage for domestics was increased from $1.50 and from $1.75 for those who work at bars and nightclubs to a uniform $2.25. This year's increase in wage for agricultural workers is the first hike in 13 years.
