JLP commended for committing to phased increases of minimum wage

 

The Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) has commended the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) for its indication that it will commit to a system of increasing the national minimum wage over the next five years if it secures a third term in office.

 

JLP leader Dr. Andrew Holness says his government will double the national minimum wage from $16,000 to $32,000 on a phased basis.

 

BITU President Kavan Gayle says the call for wages that allow workers not just to survive but to live with dignity has been at the centre of the trade union movement.

 

"This is the first administration in Jamaica's history to commit to such a system. The BITU applauds this system and sees it as a watershed moment in advancing fairness and justice in the world of work. We stand ready to engage constructively in the design and implementation of the phased increases of the broader framework that will give real meaning to the promise of a liveable wage," he said, calling for all stakeholders to support the initiative. 

 

Meanwhile, General Secretary of the Union of Clerical, Administrative and Supervisory Employees (UCASE), John Levy, is not opposed to a gradual increase in the national minimum wage, but is calling for consultation to avoid a negative impact on inflation.

 

"The good thing about this proposal right now, it will [start] April 1 next year as I understand it.... So I think it would give the businesses some time to make the necessary adjustments and to make the necessary tweaks. It would be individuals like myself and others - people who are engaged - we will also have to look at it," he admitted, while cautioning: "What it does though and what you have to be careful of, it can serve as a push for the other level of wage, where they get too close to the person above them and that person above them. This will look at a 15-16 per cent increase for next year from where we are now."

 

Mr. Levy was a guest Monday on Radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines.

 

President of the Jamaica Employers Federation (JEF), Wayne Chen, said the JLP's proposal for the national minimum wage should not have come as a surprise, as there has been a consistent pattern of increase over the last few years. But he reiterated that the movement has to be tied to productivity. 

 

"Jamaica can't just legislate or by decree raise wages; it's not sustainable. It's a difficult pivot that we have to make as a country. We have to acknowledge that there are many low-skilled jobs that will just have to disappear in the future if we want a better future for our people. I was recently in Trinidad and you can't go to a gas station now and find an attendant. So Jamaica has to think about a future where you're going to pump your own gas. And there are many manual tasks, low-skilled tasks that will have to disappear in the future as our economy transforms and develops," he contended Monday while speaking on Beyond the Headlines.