guardian.co.tt
On the eve of this country’s Budget presentation for fiscal 2024 on Monday, secretary-general of the National Trade Union Centre (NATUC) Michael Annisette and general secretary of the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) Ozzi Warwick have urged the Government to do their best to ease the financial strain on middle- and lower-income families by raising the minimum wage.
This as Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday kept the issue of whether the minimum wage will be addressed in today’s Budget close to his chest, as media reports speculated there could be an increase from $17.50 to $19.50 per hour among the main features of today’s fiscal package.
In September, during a post-Cabinet media briefing, Rowley confirmed that while the minimum wage was being considered for adjustment, there were concerns that such a decision could result in increasing inflation in other areas.
But Annisette and Warwick on Sunday again urged the Government to make the call on increasing the minimum wage.
Anisette said it was not a matter of whether the minimum wage should be increased but rather how much it should be increased by.
Annisette was one of several representatives from different trade unions who met with the Opposition last week to exchange recommendations ahead of the Budget. He said increasing the minimum wage was critical in demonstrating care for a vulnerable category in T&T’s social hierarchy.
“When one looks at the economy in T&T and how the cost of living has gradually increased over the past four years or so, I don’t think there is any question about whether the minimum wage will be increased,” Annisette told Guardian Media.
He added: “One must ask themselves if we are serious about building a society where all of us can survive and build a nation. I believe, and NATUC believes, that the most vulnerable workers have to be taken care of.”
Warwick said he also felt it was time to adjust the minimum wage.
“The fact is that they (minimum wage earners) have undergone extreme hardship over the last few years, and I think that it is only right and decent if there can be some level of adjustment for those workers,” Warwick said.
“I think they (working class) have carried the burden of economic adjustment for too long and they have really stood the test of time, continuing to work even in those circumstances, so literally they work to pay for their transport, food and a little shelter.”
During his visit to a health fair at the Carenage Boys’ Government Primary School on Sunday, however, Rowley kept Government’s decision on minimum wage close to his chest, saying only that any changes would be revealed by today.
Pressed on the issue, the Prime Minister said, “We have survived up to this point, within 48 hours you will know all the real facts.
“I don’t know that the (newspaper named) has its own budget but maybe they’re better advised than I am. I am going to talk to the Minister of Finance now to finish the work that we’re doing, so I wouldn’t be here too long but the Budget is almost ready, so by tomorrow, all the speculation will be over.”
Some sectors of society have warned against increasing the minimum wage to a figure Government and the business sector may not be able to sustain, noting it could have a negative impact on small and medium businesses.
According to the Ministry of Labour’s website, the national minimum wage was first established in 1998 at a rate of $7 per hour and gradually rose to $8 per hour in 2003. The wage rose again by $1 in March 2005 and again to $12.50 per hour from January 2010.
In January 2015, the minimum wage was increased again to $15 per hour and eventually to $17.50 per hour on December 1, 2019, where it remains today.
