Union Head Wants Minimum Wage Increase

Details

Economy

Thursday, 23 February 2012 02:30

By caribarena news

Antigua St John's - General Secretary of the Antigua & Barbuda Free Trade Union Stafford Joseph wants to see a revision of Antigua & Barbuda's minimum wage.

He noted that the minimum wage should be reviewed every two years, but the last review was done in 2008.

Joseph accused the business community of using its influence, to the detriment of employees.

To support his claims, the general secretary produced a letter from 2002 from the Chamber of Commerce to the Minister of Labour which cited the US and Canada, along with developing countries in the Caribbean, as having adopted a tier system of valuing labour, rather than a fixed monthly limit.

This would mean that employees could be paid an hourly minimum, rather than a monthly one.

“Having regard for the different tiers of labour categorizations contained in the current Minimum (basic wage) Order, we would recommend that it is normal in the free market economies, to have market focus rather than regulators determine the correct value for labour, above a single stated minimum,” the Chamber said in its letter.

Joseph said the letter supported claims he made last weekend on a local radio programme about the revised labour code that was supposedly shelved since the Antigua Barbuda Business Alliance was formed.

“Business places keep using their influences to change things… they used that as a springboard to exploit people," Joseph said. "The (labour) code should be a balanced document. People don't know what influence the business sector has on certain decisions.”

The general secretary noted that the minimum wage order committee is structured like the labour board, with representation from labour unions, employers, and the government.

He said, “Back then, the Chamber wrote a letter to the powers that be asking for a meeting on their proposal on the minimum wage,” similar to what was done in 2011 by the Business Alliance resulting in the stalemate of the implementation of the revised labour code. "Government seems to be making decisions based on request of business places and not what’s best for the workers.”

Joseph noted the cost of living in Antigua & Barbuda has risen considerably over the past four years, and it is high time for the minimum wage to be revised.

To date, he said, security guards still earn $7.50 per hour while overseeing millions in property and equipment, and skilled workers like cooks and preschool teachers earn the same thing.


Staff with a five-day workweek who fall into these categories have it the worst, the trade unionist explained, since they earn no more than $300 weekly, or $1,200 per month, and have to feed themselves and often their families on this salary.

“Workers are exploited by those unscrupulous employers,” he said. “The role of the government is to be fair, objective and impartial.”

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