Call for Minimum Wage Revision to Offset Rising Costs of Living

With the spiraling prices of goods on supermarket shelves impacting consumers globally, there is an urgent call here for a revision of the minimum wage factor to better satisfy the basic requirements of employees.

Lately, trade experts have blamed the escalating prices on foodstuffs and other goods on the COVID-19 pandemic and other setbacks associated with the supply chain. The situation is reported to be further compounded by the current Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has also triggered inflationary measures amidst rising oil prices.

Since the advent of the global crisis, in 2020, the average householder in Saint Lucia has been feeling the squeeze, especially as it relates to shopping at the supermarkets.  Local consumers have stated bluntly that they are experiencing ‘hard times’ as they are not able to equate a regular shopping budget to meet their basic needs.

And in the midst of this economic debacle, it has been reported that local hoteliers are considering raising the fees for their hospitality services.

“It is a significant concern for the industry and something that we are monitoring very closely,” Noorani Azeez, CEO of the St Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association [SLHTA] told reporters, recently.

“Since the opening, we have been plagued with various issues that really pushed our operating costs high,” he added. “While we are very comfortable with the current returns that we are getting for our rooms, the reality is that …there is not sufficient trickle through with the stayover arrivals to the communities that we’ve had in the past. In addition to that, the high costs of operations have really compounded the situation.”

Azeez noted that “contractions in the supply chain is something that has affected limitations and access to the goods that we need to provide for the needs of our guests, and as unfortunate as this is, we’re keeping our fingers on the pulse.”

Consequently, he said, the industry stakeholders have held internal discussions to assess the situation and to better determine “what are some of the products and the services that we feel that are going to take a direct hit, possibly from this.”

Claude Paul, General Secretary of the Civil Service Association (CSA) also added his take on this burdensome economic issue.

“The cost of living has certainly risen tremendously over the last two years and at this point in time, even with the war in Ukraine some persons are suggesting that the price of gas will go up,” he said. “All that will impact on the bottom line and …the ‘pocket book’ of public officers and other workers in general.”

It has been noted that while the prices of basic commodities continue to increase, salary payments to workers remain stagnant.

In view of the current situation, Paul feels the issue warrants urgent attention and it is an opportune time for the country’s legislators to intervene and bridge the salaries gap by implementing minimum wage policies.

“There are some categories of workers in Saint Lucia …and within the hotel sector, the tourism sector, and some parts of the service sector that is atrociously low, and something must be done to address that, ” declared the CSA boss.

However, while the minimum wage issue has been repeatedly touted by trade union representatives here, successive administrations have failed to effectively address the situation or enact legislation to help workers generally secure a more ‘solid footing’.

Responding to the issue of implementing constitutional amendments to the Labour Code on wage-related policies, Paul asserted: “Legislation is the best way to go …and some employers who in my view, given the situation, take advantage and have persons working for something like $400 a fortnight or less than $1,000 per month and having to make do on that, what do you think will be the consequence of that?”