Lowest paid may get lower basic wage
(CNS): The chairman of the Minimum Wage Advisory Committee, Lemuel Hurlston, has indicated that the mandatory basic hourly rate, which hasn’t changed for seven years, obviously needs to be increased. But he said that the committee may recommend two different new rates, a system that domestic workers and gardeners could benefit from.
The minimum wage was implemented on 1 March 2016, but Hurlston said that the rate of $6 per hour was only meant to be an introductory one. The original committee, which he also led, had recommended incremental increases once the law was in place and the community had become used to the idea of a basic wage. But the government never took up that recommendation, he said.
At the start of this year, the PACT Government formed a new committee with Hurlston at the helm once again. After several months of research, the members are now at the public consultation stage.
The MWAC has already begun a series of media appearances and is scheduled to talk to CNS on Tuesday, though at this point, the committee is not revealing the rate that think they will recommend.
Hurlston is urging people to take part in the online survey or fill in a printed version, which can be collected from public libraries in July, to have their say about what the new rate should be. And next month there will be a series of district town hall meetings where people will be able to give their feedback in person.
“The data we gather will assist us in making the best possible recommendations for the Cayman community as a whole,” Hurlston said.
It is already apparent that the committee believes the current rate is inadequate. Hurlston has said that when the original committee recommended the $6 per hour rate, most jobs here were already paying at least that amount and very few employers were impacted. He explained that the committee had recommended such a low rate to allow for gradual incremental increases.
Hurlston said that the Economics and Statistics Officer’s “starvation level wage” is currently considered to be around CI$6.50. This means that the legal basic rate of pay is not protecting low-paid workers since anyone in Cayman being paid the minimum wage cannot afford to meet their basic needs. The good news is that almost all workers here are earning more than $6.50 an hour.
But in the face of inflation and the pressing need to raise the minimum wage, the committee must also consider the ability of small businesses to pay staff and still stay commercially viable, and for families to pay the wages of carers for their children or elderly dependents.
Hurlston said that there is the capacity in the wider business community to pay staff more but that an increase would affect some small struggling businesses.
The 16 members of the MWAC are due to complete their work and submit a report to the government at the end of September.
The public is invited to take the survey.
To follow the public consultation campaign, visit the Minimum Wage Cayman Facebook page or on Instagram at @minimumwageky. The MWAC can also be contacted via email at minimumwage@gov.ky.
Watch out for more on the minimum wage next week on CNS.
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Category: Jobs, Local News, Policy, Politics
https://trade4devnews.enhancedif.org/en/news/five-things-know-about-least-developed-countries-and-ecommerce
Taxes is not a bad word……………
With more than 1.3 billion online shoppers in 2020, our giant global marketplace presents countless opportunities for people in the world’s poorest countries if the digital divide can be overcome.
An eCommerce boost could mean much for country economies, and the possibility of greater outside investment.
https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2021/10/13/latin-american-countries-lead-world-in-taxing-digital-services/45801/
Access to new markets and the potential for job creation and trade growth could increase people’s earnings. And there is a lot people in LDCs can do pending affordable connectivity, tools and training. In addition, certain barriers for women, youth and small businesses could be overcome, thereby levelling the playing fields through increased inclusivity and incomes
https://unctad.org/press-material/global-e-commerce-sales-surged-29-trillion
A surge was seen in the number of online shoppers and sales which jumped by 12% and stood at 1.3 billion people, or one quarter of the world’s population.
An increase in a structured online connectivety for the other 75% of the worlds population not only create jobs in undeveloped geographic areas, increase the circular flow of cash or money in the global economy, but it also creates taxable jobs and income for governments to maintain infrustructual growth, building maintaince, pay government employee wages and continue to provide health care, education and emergency services
https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/Technology/AheadoftheCurve/story%3fid=5529989&page=1
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn12339-laptop-for-poor-countries-may-be-sold-commercially/
The United Nations has an ambitious agenda to erradicate poverty by 2030.
While this is applausable, the challenges on a global scale requires wide scale contributions and co-operation.
For example, the global varience in education levels, awareness, and unstanding require great effort.
However, when we attend college to aquire a higher level of education, one begins to be exposed to classes like Economics, micro and macro that explains what , how and why domestic economies fluctuiate up and down, stratigies to expand growth and development, how to create jobs etc
Then college students are exposed to other classes like Quantative Management that explains monetary policy strategies, International Management that explains the various types of trade and investment that generates income, create jobs and investments and stimulate economies globally
This opens up the minds of college students to better understand there domestoc economy, how it works and how it relates to the global economy
College students are then offered classes like Strategic Managenent that explains what is required to start a successful business, like a proper business plan, courses in Accounting and Economics etc…..
These classes collectively equipts and prepares college students with the necessary knowledge, a better understanding and tools to partiscipate in the upper level of decision make in there economy
A good example of understanding the big picture, goes as far back as far back as the 80’s and 90’s when the world witnessed an evelution of wide scale technical inventions and supply distribution of cable television and satalite dishes
This evelution of media information via television with movies, advertisements and kids educational programs allowed organisations like the United Nations to share and market information on poverty in countries like Rawanda and Syria about people living in sepressed malnurished conditions like starvation, poor living conditions, no educational opportunities etc… and appeal to the world with charitable contributions on television advertisements
This United Nations Marketing effort drew little attention and contributions from the developed wold leading economies like the UK, the US and Canada, resulting in a UN Agenda to erradicate poverty
While this was happening, the worlds population increased putting pressure on two thirds of the worlds oceans fisheries where being depleted, less creation of jobs, infrustrial and development growth, meaning that people were earning less on a wider scale to get by, which begged for an injecterjection of inteventions to improve and increase the means of mass education, better health care and prosperity
In other words, a less educated population that is not aware of these issues meant higher taxes, higher unemployment rates, an increase in crime, higher monetary policies and less income to get by on.
With the monetary decision makers of the 80’s and 90’s like Allan Greenspan that made way for the supply and inventions of technical job creation in cable and satalite television that increased the circular flow of cash and income, decreased or stalled as the population increased and the supply of the technical television industry were exhausted
With the World Economic Fourum, the World Trade Organization, the World Bank and the United Nations all looking at global issues, where as each country is concentrated on there national or domestic issues and each country all differ on views from one country to another
For example, while businesses like auto makers in Europe and Asia are looking at manufacturing and cost savings and relocating manufacturing plants from the US and Canada to less geographical labor and tax cost locations, jobs and income in the US & Canada are lost to countries like Mexico and Africa who have started creating public and private sector jobs and income because of increased revenue from taxes
The global view of an increase in online shopping, that is viewed as the next technical ecinomical growth, since the television cable and satilite dish era, is viewed to stimulate the global economy
However, as cost increase, wages deceease and unemployment numbers soar, only pockets of geographical economic prosperity appear to be witnessed and much effort is required educationally and academically for a global equalibriun to be reached spreading out the prosperity and economic growh and infrustrial development
Most companies are paying above the minimum wage because they want reliable, knowledgeable, and personable employees. The wage paid for the same position often varies depending on an employee’s performance. So, if an employee would like to be paid more, then they must improve their performance. An employee who chooses to do the minimum and not improve their performance will always be paid closer to the bottom of the pay scale regardless of what the minimum wage is. The free market will work this out.
EFF! these Cayman Islands!! – FED UP CAYMANIAN
What’s shocking to me is that more wealthy families don’t pay their staff more. I know many who do and their staff rarely leave knowing that being paid so well is an anomaly. Also aware of many wealthy people only pay the min they can get away with. If you can afford more, and they work hard and are honest PAY them for it!
I’m surprised someone hasn’t said everyone should be paid equally regardless of their job.
Now, we’re talking! Crime would drop to zero.
lol. yeah.. cause that is clearly the case where this has been tried before
Karl Marx did – didnt seem to work out so well
How We Can Make Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream of Ending Poverty A Reality
https://time.com/6247310/martin-luther-king-jr-guaranteed-income/
There are many problems that cause low wages: Or no wages!
1. Uneducated workers
2. Greedy business owners
3. Alcohol and other drugs
There are more. What do you think??
Who said life would be easy?
Universal Basic Income is the answer
Eradicate poverty and see crime decline
And you will donate the cash?
Pay every Caymanian to stay home and bring in 20,000 more work permit holders to do all the work? Genius.
Sadly we don’t have the oil wealth that allows the middle eastern countries to do just that for their citizens. Guess we’ll just have to get back to work…
Read the article. Confirmation bias is detrimental to learning.
Universal basic income is survival income. One can still work and earn an income and receive it.
What they do with it is on them, but it has worked in different cities and countries.
Who knew we had someone smarter than Dr. Martin Luther King was? You will go far!
No. The answer is to enforce our immigration laws.
Increasing minimum wage – great.
But I would really appreciate first if the government could tackle employers who are currently not paying minimum wage. The employers not paying wages at all. The employers not paying health and pension.
Many people are currently on island being taken advantage of.
Those people you refer to that are “on island being taken advantage of” should report the situation to WORC.
Perhaps in some/many cases they are here illegally so they do not report??? In that case they should leave.
Any person/company who cannot afford to pay minimum wage should not be granted a business license. Minimum wage should be outlawed and instead a living wage should be implemented. Didn’t Tara Rivers sort that out when she was Minister of lanour? Also the practice of taking out work permits for minimum wage persons and letting them work for someone else decreases the workers pay because the holder of the permit has to get a cut from it. That should be outlawed also.
Ummm, it is outlawed. We just don’t enforce it.
Perhaps in some/many cases they are here illegally so they do not report??? In that case they should leave.
And let the employers of illegal worker off?
Guido -they do not report as their employer would sack them. Wise up to the reality of local employers!.
Hence, why many Filipino nannies work 80 to 100 hour weeks.
Or they are WP holders – and if their employer revokes their permit when they complain, they have 7 days to leave the island. Difficult to imagine an arrangement that promotes both abusive employers or an incentive for greedy employers to employ expats rather than Caymanians.
It MUST be an annual minimum.
Employers can juggle shifts and hours even if it is $20/hr so you only still take home a minimum of maybe $2500
If your business cannot pay appropriate wages, your business shouldn’t exist.
The idea that increasing wages is going to make things unaffordable is a nonsense argument put forward by those accumulating the excess capital. Commercial revenues are far outpacing costs of labour – while investors and owners certainly should expect returns, the scales have tipped way past reasonable and worker value is being grossly discounted.
It is important to emphasise that the wage is the gross wage before deductions for health insurance and pensions.
The net (or take-home) pay is significantly less.
In the private sector, these are matched by the employer.
Plus vacation and sick leave, etc. which a private business owner doesn’t receive.
Plus the fact a private business owner has skin in the game and has invested their own money into the business.
So grow up and stop bashing employers.
As already pointed out, the minimum wage issue needs to be addressed, with an increase in the region to at least $8.50 to $10, but also the widespread abuse of work permits.
It’s already a system that is almost slave and slaver. It must be fixed. The countless people here with no real job, but have a work permit, is ridiculous. It causes misery, crime, immigration offenses, slum landlords etc.
Power families and cronies will never allow living wages.
This is bread and circuses foolishness.
Then they should do their work themselves!
Go back to your basement and stay off social media.
they would if people stopped showing up to do it for them. but there’s always someone who is willing to do work.
Here we go again. The government wanting to mandate that domestic helpers, eledey care workers and landscapers somehow deserve less than other workers.
Is this only because they want to protect Caymanians from paying a living wage? Or are many immigration and other government workers the owners of domestic helper and landscape businesses, and want to protect their own profits??
Lodge, power families, Legge, etc, etc, etc
Caymanians holding other Caymanians down for status undefeated.
I think it should raised to $10 per hour
Minimum wage has knock-on effects which need to be considered. Just picking a random number it not going to solve it.
Slavery is alive and well in the Cayman Islands. Deal with it.
I would like to see it erased!
elaborate?
Except you are free to leave. Please do so at the earliest opportunity.
Also, nobody is forcing anyone to sign an employment contract.
1029 go home to mommy’s basement and ask for your bottle.
3.46pm There is no limit to the depths of ignorance displayed here.
This is a tricky situation. Rather than increase the minimum wage you need to tackle the causes of inflation that are making minimum wage unaffordable. When wages go up businesses increase their costs to compensate for the rise. Subsequently, things become more expensive.
There are terrible abuses that need a big shakeout. Employers taking out permits for workers have an obligation to provide working hours and pay their workers a fair living wage. There should be a pathway for skilled advancement and promotion. Some trades workers have been here at under $10 for decades. Permit holders are vouching for and sponsoring that person in Cayman. It should not be up to employer committees to decide how little they can get away with, for as long as possible without detection, or pretend to be in a business that isn’t booking any actual work hours. Cayman needs a labour arbitration panel to refer exploitive permit holders for fines and sanction, maybe jail. DCI does a poor job at monitoring employee conditions, reconciling working hours to pay, and should not be renewing many of these T&B licenses and phantom permits for roving dial-a-guy jobs. There are thousands of permit holders that pick up the phone every morning to look and see if they know if they have somewhere to work that day. Which fluorescent shirt will it be?
They’ll raise it to $6.50 and cheer it on as a substantial victory for the working class. Meanwhile, they’ll be sure to give themselves another $30,000 annual wage hike because government is such hard work.
Not only do they get big pay rises they also get annual cost of living adjustments. So while the fat cats get fatter, the poor get to starve.
YEP!
Let them eat cake-Marie Antoinette
If you don’t like the pay, start your own business.
Pay a living wage.
for those businesses saying a wage increase will put them out of business- your rights to live are not higher than the slaves/ staff you have!
Pay people a living wage!
I have to go find some impoverished people somewhere to employ so can get them CHEAP!
Why don’t we think outside the box, and bring the cost of living down instead? Then sit back and watch the $6.50/hr go a long way.
Problem solved. So genius I should run for office.
Do you have your box to live in already?
Pay people a living wage! I do. And for those charging up to 20% gratuity as a way of paying their employees – you’re a disgrace!
In Europe, for example, workers are paid a living wage, and no one even expects a tip in most instances, when you do they show appreciation unlike some here and in the US that believe that it’s right.
The beatings of the poors will continue until morale improves.
Whose morale?
Polling the elite slave driving permit holders on what they figure they might prefer to get away with is always going to be the wrong way to look at this basic cost of living equation. Do something right for once. Minimum living wage should be at least doubled to KYD$12. In Canada it’s $16.65. Bermuda $16.40.
While I take on board that minimum wage needs to increase I really do not think have a clue as to the knock on effect of all of this.
– increased cost if living as businesses will ibcrease product cost.
– many small families who have caregivers won’t be able to afford them. I see more workplace chaos.
and it goes on and on.
Be careful what you wish for cause you might get it.
Cayman’s businesses have already increased prices 200bpts above USA CPI, while labour rate has remained at 1985 levels. That is sickeningly exploitive, and you defend it? Good luck with those Heaven plans.
Dr. Martin Luther King was an advocate for a basic universal income to eradicate poverty for all races,
There is more than enough wealth here that every man, woman and child could have a basic income.
Only if they had a way to get it, and they don’t!. Our great leadership ain’t so great!
Say….. Who changed the law that prevented the Lodge Boys from being the lawmakers? I didn’t vote for that…….
He was also a Christian pastor. Are you willing to serve Jesus Christ all the days of your life?
Say you can’t see the forest for the trees without saying it.
If I’m being paid handsomely to do it, sure, I’ll gladly put on my facade of being a “good christian” each and every morning and fill peoples’ heads with self-defeating BS just like all the other ministers.
business owners should have to deal with the issues of costs just like everyone else. If you cant make a go of your business by paying people a fair rate, close….this will also solve the issue of over crowding on the island as we wont import cheap and unfair labour! two problems solved- we close the sweat shops, and we get lower our population…. BAM
you are clueless 428
3:49 please explain champ…
Small families who can’t afford to pay a living wage can’t afford to own a slave.
What part of this equation are you struggling with?
This new committee is a farce.
The same chairmen from the ridiculous $4.50 minimum wage set years ago which still stands , as well as the $6 starvation wage that also still stands.
They were appointed well into 2022 but only started work in January 2023.
Their Survey is the worse I ever saw. I tried and gave up on its protracted winding quests.
God help us
True. Their report was due June. Now they say September. It will be knocked about until election and left for the next government to kick it down the road as we suffer daily!!
Only to join the other reports on a dusty shelf in the glass house…
Pass the rum.