COME August 1st, Saint Lucians will see a new minimum wage being enacted, government announced this week, and individuals are already assessing how will this latter development benefit workers.
Many persons have lauded Prime Minister Philip J Pierre for doing what is not only necessary, but long overdue. However, there are concerns as to how practical this undertaking is.
For instance, how does government intend to deal with employees being dismissed after this new ‘Liveable Wage’ is implemented? Employers, in fact, may choose to get rid of workers (some that is), in order to cut their losses. Furthermore, are there any penalties in place to prevent this from happening?
The cost of living must also be considered. As the minimum wage increases, so will goods and services. As noted on ‘Investopedia’, the primary purpose of minimum wage is to provide workers with a level of income that allows them to meet their essential needs. It also acts as a safeguard against extremely low wages and helps reduce poverty and income inequality.
Among the disadvantages according to ‘Investopedia’: the probable consequence of businesses increasing prices. Economists and business executives also argue that businesses will be forced to cut jobs to maintain their profits.
Prime Minister Philip J Pierre (who appointed a Minimum Wage Commission) we presume would have taken this much into account.
In preparing the ‘Liveable Wage’ bill, the Commission consisting of trade union representatives and personnel from the public and private sectors were given the mammoth task to oversee drafting of this new legislation.
Upon this premise, there needs to be regulations in place with oversight to safeguard the interest of workers as well as employers. For, in much the same way that one will come across ‘delinquent, careless or lazy’ employees’, so too, there will be employers prone to taking advantage of the situation to better their profit margins at the expense of those workers.
We know too well of the reports identifying loopholes in the workforce, where employees are ‘short-paid’ in certain sectors and these matters must also be considered.
A case in point can be identified with persons working in the multi- retail commodities outlets, construction workers, and security officers among the lot not represented by trade unions.
We can only hope that this ‘liveable wage’ augurs well for citizens, many of whom are desperate to put food on the table for themselves and their families.
As we celebrate workers all around the country this Labour Day, let’s remember to treat them fairly. In fact, that’s the whole point of the Labour Movement and we certainly can’t afford to forget it.
And as the Constitution of the Land, states in part, every individual, no matter colour, class, or creed deservers a right to put a roof over their heads and to cater for the welfare of their extended families.
Happy Labour Day to all industrious Saint Lucian Workers!