Minimum Wage Will Jump to $6, But Will It Be Enough?

The minimum wage is set to climb to six dollars an hour. That’s a major jump from the five dollars introduced in the last PUP government, and it would make this administration the first to nearly double guaranteed hourly income. On top of that, more than 15,000 public officers, teachers, and security personnel are in line for salary increases totaling over $100 million, thanks to recent union negotiations. In two years, when phased increases and increments for public officers and teachers are fully implemented, the wage bill will swell by one hundred and twelve million dollars annually. That works out to about seven hundred and fifty dollars per year for each worker. But will these raises truly improve living standards, or will inflation and rising costs cancel out the gains? And what does this mean for businesses already grappling with higher operating expenses? For workers, it sounds like relief. For the economy, it could be a balancing act between progress and pressure.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Hourly wage earners can soon expect another raise to $6 for the minimum wage, from an Administration that made good in our last term on the $5 per hour pledge. When that $6 per hour floor is established, this Government would be the first ever to almost double the guaranteed income of those whose wages are paid at hourly rates. Apart from the tens of thousands of hourly workers whose pockets are a little deeper today, there are the more than 15,000 public officers, teachers and security personnel who, as a consequence of Government’s recent negotiations with the various unions, stand to gain over 100 million dollars in additional wages. When the phased salary increases are fully implemented, and including increments through to 2027, the additional wages will value 112.4 million dollars annually or 750 dollars per year on average for each of the public officers, teachers and security personnel.”