CIG to roll out $8.75/hour basic wage in New Year
(CNS): The new government will be rolling out the minimum wage as recommended by the Minimum Wage Advisory Committee in a comprehensive 2023 report that was rejected by the former administration. Answering questions in parliament on Friday, Labour Minister Michael Myles said the new basic wage will be implemented from 1 January, and during the course of 2026, the Cayman Islands Government will adopt other recommendations from the same report.
Myles made it clear that this rollout will be across all sectors and there will not be a requirement for it to be subsidised by tips in the hospitality sector. He said there was much more to be done, but it was time to increase the current inadequate rate of just $6 an hour. He noted that the CIG was following the advice of experts, given the amount of work and research that had gone into the report.
The minister initially answered a question from Deputy Leader of the Oppositon Kenntheth Bryan as to whether the government intended to implement a new minimum wage, and if so, when and by how much.
However, Dwayne Seymour, who, as labour minister in the UPM administration, had rejected the MWAC’s report and its recommendations, asked if a team had been put together to gauge the impact of implementing that increase. In response, Myles pointed out that all of that work had already been done by the committee, and it was well-documented in the report.
He said the ministry team would also be working on rolling out some of the other recommendations in the report that would affect the economy, and all of this would be considered.
Seymour asked about the wage for domestic helpers, as some employers would not be able to afford this rise. But Myles said that had been considered in the report, and the recommendation came from a number of professionals. While there may be unintended consequences regarding helpers, there were real concerns about people who were earning just $6 per hour.
“We… have people here in our country who are living paycheck to paycheck, who are struggling to meet normal bills because they are being paid $6 per hour. I understand the helper situation, which is why we are… implementing [the new minimum wage] on 1 Jan 2026,” he said, noting that the government had a responsibility to the people to ensure they are being paid appropriately.
Myles told Bryan in a follow-up question that the rollout would not be different for the tourism industry. The first step would be to implement this basic rate, and the government would hold a press conference about this and other things it was considering in this field. He said parliament would be briefed on all of the things from the report that the government will adopt.
The labour minister said he was aware that there could be economic consequences, but the “economy’s going to do what the economy is going to do”, and he believed the government had a responsibility to ensure Caymanians were being paid a fair wage.
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I strongly believe caymanian minimum wages should be different from expats
We won’t get hired if that’s the case. This minimum wage is a win for expats not Caymanians.
Greed will cause all vendors in Cayman Islands to raise prices on goods and services after $8.75/hour minimum wage is implemented.
They would never consider relinquishing a small amount of profit so as to avoid our cost-of-living increasing.
Foster’s already pays more than 8.75 – so prices not going anywhere in consequence of this.
Who is the increase in minimum wage for? Locals or expats? Which Caymanian even works and receives minimum wage now? If there are a handful, then upskill them, if there are many more than a handful then round them up and mass educate them into a trade/job/career/entrepreneurship/journeyman/internship.
Otherwise, what is the point of increasing minimum wage for expats to turnaround and send the money outside of Cayman for the Caymanians to struggle with the artificial inflation? Why would they spend more locally? Expats come here to make money. If they can’t they go to another country. That is the bottom line. The only people in Cayman for the love of country are Caymanians and a handful of expats. I don’t mean loving the money and lifestyle the country offers. The love the country provides through thick and thin.
There is 6 months for people to prepare. Has the government prepared for the influx of NAU requests from middle to low-income families needing money to pay a helper or daycare? Or for an entire income because the mother will have to stay home and take care of the children because they cannot afford the helper anymore who cared for their child?
The consequences of this was not thought through. Did any of these people go to school and take a basic sociology course that made the decision? Did anyone travel or live anywhere else in the world who has seen what minimum wage does and the knock-on effect of it? Do they realize that the government subsidizes the inequities of inflation? Did any decision maker take a basic economics class of supply and demand?
Good grief. If you think that the measly $6 an hour at the moment is sufficient then you are off your nut. And as far as Caymanians loving their country, let’s use Duhwayne as an example. He has consistently battled against a minimum wage. How is keeping people on the poverty line loving your country? And people are thoroughly entitled to send their money to wherever they want. They’ve worked for the pittance so let them send it home to their relatives. Caymankind in action again.
Then you confirmed that the minimum wage is not for Caymanians. It is for expats to send more money home.
We need a Walmart Sams Club and a Walmart Supercenter in the Cayman Islands
https://corporate.walmart.com/about/samsclub
https://www.walmart.com/store/2154-duluth-ga/?veh=seo_loc
cig will prevent it to protect local cartels…same with uber.
welcome to wonderland.
I’ve said it time and time again and i’ll say it again.
If we are going to decide on setting and offering a Minimum wage, we have to provide truly affordable accomodations, food, utilities and transpertation
Where are the Walmart representatives that wanted to build a Super Walmart in High Rock East End???
A Bold Vision for Affordable Housing and Our Future Workforce – With Accessible Financing
To the Cayman Islands Government, the Cayman Islands Ministry of Housing and the People of the Cayman Islands,
While our islands continue to flourish, we face an escalating challenge that directly impacts our future: affordable housing. This crisis disproportionately affects our low-income earners, especially those on the minimum wage of CI$6.00 an hour, making the dream of a secure home unattainable.
This issue is set to become even more acute as we anticipate approximately 10,000 high school graduates entering our workforce over the next decade. Without accessible housing, we risk hindering their ability to contribute fully to our economy and society.
I propose a bold, yet practical, solution: a government-led initiative to construct 3,000 modern, energy-efficient, multi-family apartment units (one, two, and three bedrooms) and commit to reselling them at cost every four years to eligible low-income Caymanians.
This plan isn’t just about providing homes; it’s about securing our economic future and supporting our youth.
Funding and Construction
The Cayman Islands Treasury Department can issue and float 10, 20, 30 & 40 year bonds specifically to finance the construction of these apartments.
This smart financial strategy allows us to leverage our nation’s strong economic standing to address this critical social need without immediately burdening government budgets.
Our very own Cayman Islands Public Works Department (PWD) is ideally positioned to lead the construction. By utilizing the PWD, we can ensure efficient project management, maintain high construction standards, and keep costs transparent and controlled for the benefit of our citizens.
Truly Affordable Pricing & Accessible Financing
The core aim of this initiative is to directly ease the cost of living and housing crisis.
We can price these homes to be genuinely affordable for low-income earners and our emerging workforce, with target resale costs of:
• CI$70,000 for a one-bedroom apartment
• CI$90,000 for a two-bedroom apartment
• CI$125,000 for a three-bedroom apartment
Crucially, to make these homes truly attainable, the Cayman Islands National Development Housing Trust could offer a fixed interest rate of 8% for mortgages on these apartments.
This would result in significantly lower, potentially half, of the monthly payment costs compared to what is currently offered by retail and commercial banks, thereby removing a major barrier to homeownership for deserving Caymanians.
The Profound Impact on Our Community
Imagine the far-reaching benefits of this initiative:
• A Clear Path to Homeownership:
This program would directly empower thousands of families, including our young graduates, to transition from a cycle of renting to building equity. This fosters greater financial stability and long-term security, allowing them to truly establish roots here at home.
• Alleviating the Housing Crisis:
By introducing 3,000 affordable units into the market, we can significantly reduce pressure on rental prices and provide much-needed relief to a strained housing sector.
• Supporting Our Future Workforce:
Providing genuinely affordable housing with accessible financing is crucial for retaining our talented high school graduates. It ensures they can afford to live and work in the Cayman Islands, contributing their skills and energy to our local economy for years to come.
• Economic Stimulus:
A project of this scale would create significant, sustained employment opportunities in construction and related industries, providing a powerful boost to our local economy.
• Enhanced Social Equity:
This is a fundamental step towards ensuring that the benefits of our nation’s economic success are shared more equitably among all Caymanians, improving overall quality of life and community well-being.
Implementing such a plan requires careful planning, transparent allocation, and robust management, but the benefits for our current residents and future generations are immeasurable.
Let’s embrace a visionary approach to housing that truly serves the needs of all our people.
By providing genuinely affordable homes with government-supported financing, we invest not just in buildings, but in the prosperity and well-being of every Caymanian family and the vibrant future of our islands.
The fact is, that if we are going to put in place a manditory Minimum Wage, we also need to put in place a manditory Housing Accomidation Process to build and sell realistic affordable housing units to cater to the approximatly 10,000 Minimum Wage School Graduates over the next 10 years
Either we will have to develop new businesses in Cqyman Brac, North Side & East End to create New Jobs to accomidate our school leavers, or we will have to phase out and replace 10,000 existing Work Permit Holders with Caymanians over the nezt 10 years.
That means that we have to provide our Low and Middle Income earners with the basic affordable necessities like housing accomodations, transpertation, food and utilities
A Concerned Caymanian Citizen
125k for a 3 bed in Cayman?
That ship sailed 50 years ago lmao
Singapore’s model is a good one to follow:
https://www.gov.sg/explainers/a-home-for-everyone-singapores-public-housing
Which Caymanian is actually making minimum wage? Where? What jobs? It is only expats working on those salaries. Even school leavers and high school students make more than minimum wage.
if you think Cayman is expensive now – just wait 6 months when all of this starts showing up in the price of everything – food, utilities, absolutely everything will go up. Fact!
This wasnt thought out. As one writer said who can afford then for helpers when the cost of living will even be higher. Companies cannot absorb 3.00 more an hour without passing it on. Government is the worse. look at all government bids, they low ball to get the cheapest. 6 months isn’t enough time to prepare. This will cause a collapse in alot of companies. So more hand outs will be needed. Government should have tried to help lower gas housing food which would have helped everyone
Some people shouldn’t have Helpers. Raise your own kids like we did in the 70’s/80’s.
Myles shamelessly says: “…the government had a responsibility to the people to ensure they are being paid appropriately.” Being paid “appropriately” would mean being paid a living wage: a living wage is a far cry from a paltry $8.75 per hour he is ok with. Myles should be embarrassed and ashamed to be quoted on that.
The report Myles is depending on was published in 2023. When was the data in that report compiled? Some of it appears to be as old as 2021. Did they adjust for inflation in the interim?
For reference according to the report, a living wage, by definition, is the wage rate required for households to achieve a minimum
acceptable standard of living that is socially accepted. Bottom line: at $8.75 the lowest paid workers still will not be “paid appropriately”. For shame!
Another question is: Will this government mandate that the minimum wage be updated annually to account for inflation and increases in the Cost of Living Index?? If not, Myles and the new government are just blowing smoke up the workers’ baxides. Double shame!
read the report jackass. It not only stipulates a minimum wage but also a mechanism for adjusting it for inflation every two years by a fixed cost or by an amount determined by inflation. All the keyboard warriors are out and zero have read the damn report.
Yes, it isn’t as high as it should be, but it is a good start. By approving the number in the report, the government didn’t need to stick its neck out any further than was already approved by a committee that had good reasons for suggesting $8.75
Businesses should have to declare what their minimum wage is. That was the consumer can chose not to engage with slave owners
What a joke. Minimum wage in US is $26
It absolutely is not $26. It’s $7.25 at the federal level. States can set their own minimum wages however.
and prices/inflation will go up again and the poorest will be hit the hardest.
nicely done ncfc….zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
whats your plans to tackle cost of living % doing business here?
will wait for answer.
If you think raising the minimum wage above $6 will have an impact on inflation you clearly know nothing about economics. That increase in spending power is negligible.
don’t think you know what you are talking about….
?????…bonkers! ..classic caymankind economics
Paying good workers more money is the right thing to justify, but community populations must be taken into consideration. if businesses have no customers to draw from the existing population and the population is small they cannot exist if government continues to raise fees, on Duties, work permits, shipping costs, additionally pensions deductions increase to business owners when pays increase, employee Health Ins premiums, as new holidays are implemented employees must be paid and no business income happen. The cycle must stop somewhere
Landscaping companies will have to cut costs by spending less on their well maintained and not at all illegal vans, trucks, and trailers.
We’re through the looking glass already, what horrors await?
I saw a couple of landscape guys stood up in the back of a flatbed Japanese truck last week, facing the front. Hi vis t shirts and everything. I’m assuming they got stopped by the police shortly after, with this clampdown.
Duhwayne Seymour. The original tight-arse who would rather keep staff on poverty wages. Grippier than an alien on John Hurt’s face.
Minimum wage benefits Permit Holders over Caymanians at a ratio of 4/1. Yet ALL Caymanians will now have to deal with cost increases of goods across the board, making life harder.
So we will now be exporting boat loads more cash to Jamaica, Philippines etc, while Caymanians are paying more to live here.
Great work NCFC. Thanks a lot. This is what happens when inexperienced government take over thinking they have all of the answers.
exploitation is the Christian way
This is exactly what will happen. The work permit holders will just send more money overseas.
No minimum hours yet?
Minimum wage could be $100 per hour, but that won’t be livable if your employer screws you with 1 hour a week.
We import too many work permit holders for low paying jobs without any guarantee that they will have enough hours to afford living here.
$8.75 is still so low that we should not be getting work permits for it. That wage works if you live with your parents, not if you need to pay rent.
Some of the expat supermarket workers are forced to work 6.5 days a week. Whether they are being paid for all those hours is another story
It’s a really good news for Expats, they will have more money to send back home, but for people like me married to Caymanian it’s nothing because I have to spend every dollar I make in this Island because I live here.
9:21am – I think you need to question the value of your marriage, or at least do some soul searching as to why you got married in the first place. Maybe WORC should do a welfare check-up on your marriage.
Truth.
Cry me a river.
Firstly, nobody held a gun to your head to make you move here and then marry a Caymanian.
Secondly, nobody is forcing you or your spouse to stay.
Thirdly, plenty of foreigners who marry Caymanians, still send money home.
Fourthly, do you just expect foreigners to live here for virtual slave wages? Just so you can exploit their labor? And btw these low wages slow down Caymanian participation in the job market.
You can’t have it both ways. Suck it up and pay a bit more.
I,too, believe the Minimum Wage should be higher but at least this government is doing something about increasing the current rate. Other governments, like the UPM Administration, were just willing to push it down the drain out of self interest.
Seymour and others were clouded in self ineterest and it was plain as day that they were. However, if businesses can’t pay their workers a meager $8.75 in today’s Cayman economy, then they should not be in business.
Plain and simple. No ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’ about it.
Slavery labour days are over!
They can afford to pay them any amount; you the consumer will just be billed more for items and services. Hope you are ready.
You know your are correct so businesses in the service industry on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman may do just that. There is no increase in populations there and the businesses already struggle to exist! Struggling to exist will just get harder and so if they wish to stay in business, complaints will be increased and increased costs on purchases will happen to justify that increase. Govt does not take any consideration to the Brac or Little Cayman when implementing these increases. We maybe one Cayman Jurisdiction – but three separate communities we do not have the absorbing population Grand has so this will hurt the Sisters for sure.
The 5 negatives have to be from Grand?, remember also if the Government truly cared they could lower the 22% duty to lets say 18% maybe then everyone would get a break, but no they want to give themselves raises and justify them, Government here is into every ones business whether you like it or not !
So when consumer prices are increased to justify the minimum wage increase, you will not be a complainer… Many people can not afford many items now and scrimp to make it thru. Some don’t get to eat the things they would like because the items are too expensive to purchase. In a way the Government creates slaves in the population. As a struggle ensues for the dollar to survive
$8.75 might have been adequate several years ago, nowadays, $9.75 or $10.00 would have been an updated discussion amount. Tips are additional, not instead of! In addition to minimum wage, minimum hours should be guaranteed by those undertaking these thousands of permit applications. We must stop importing idle minimum wage unskilled poverty.That is supposed to be the point of this! Caymanians won’t be working any of these jobs!
2023 report? That must be at least $9.25 by now.
that is disgusting bruh you can go work burgerking stateside and get payed over 20$ minimum (16 after tax) atleast 11 CYD.. an hour at some ghetto burgerking. bro and claim we are tax free? we pay double for everything. yall disgusting
So what’s stopping you expat?
What’s stopping you from taking on a landscaping or caretaker job at minimum wage?
I have an education.
Peanuts is right, CNS. There is enough wealth here to justify a living wage.
Living wage and minimum wage are, and must continue to be, different things. Minimum wage jobs, for most, should be transitional. Not a permanent career. A stage to work through – with rewards for those who work hardest and most.
Well said. A minimum wage job is a foot in the door and an opportunity to show an employer your real value. The more value you contribute to your workplace, the more your employer can justify paying you. Focus on gaining employment where there is a positive culture with opportunities for growth. The door is wide open for Caymanians with positive attitudes, aptitude, and a bit of common sense. All you have to do is “look around the room” at most businesses. Every non-Caymanian employee is holding a job that can be yours if you stay positive and work for it.
JOn-Jon won’t like this.
True. And yet his party, the PPM, campaigned on making it $9.00.
I wonder how easy it would be to have and maintain an “integrity index” and to keep a score on our politicians.
would integrity index be able to show negative?
Is there a lower mark than zero?
Excellent.