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| Minister of State for Information Nigel Carty (File photo: sknvibes.com) | |
BASSETERRE, St Kitts, July 23, 2008 - The St Kitts and Nevis government is closer to deciding on an increased minimum wage for workers there, with Cabinet indicating it will give its final verdict soon.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Sustainable Development, Information and Technology, Nigel Carty reported that Cabinet had on Monday "engaged in vigorous discussion regarding the various recommendations proffered and agreed to finalise its decision at a subsequent meeting".
The proposal to move the minimum wage from the current EC$6.25 (US$2.34) per hour rate was put forward by the government in an attempt to ensure that workers at the lower end of the income bracket can cope with the spiralling cost of food and oil.
Mr Carty said that following a consultative session which took place last month, involving a wide range of stakeholders, Labour Minister Earle Martin told his Cabinet colleagues that the consensus was that with the cost of living dramatically increasing globally, "there should be no resistance to the recommendation to increase minimum wages for a full 40-hour work week".
He added that there were suggestions that productivity, performance and wage increases go hand in hand and that this should be taken into account; that government and private sector should be prepared to absorb the economic impact of a possible wage increase; and that it would be useful to explore the establishment of different minimum wage rates for employees within different economic sectors or operating at different levels of skill.
Specific recommendations regarding a proposed increase in the minimum wage were received from the St Kitts and Nevis Trades and Labour Union, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Hotel and Tourism Association, the Contractors Association, the Department of Gender Affairs, the private security sector and the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.
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