LABOUR and Immigration Minister Keith Bell. (File photo)
By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
LABOUR Minister Keith Bell says he expects the government will make a final decision on what the country’s national minimum wage will look like during next week’s Cabinet meeting.
“I am pleased to advise that the matter is before the Cabinet,” Mr Bell said when asked for an update on the issue yesterday.
“The Cabinet is in active discussion, and we anticipate that at the Cabinet meeting, which is next week Tuesday, that we should be able to come to some conclusion with respect to what the minimum wage would look like.
“Obviously, as you anticipate there will be more dialogue and consultation, but I am very pleased where we are at this stage with it.”
Currently, the national minimum wage is pegged at $210 per week, while the minimum wage in the public sector is $225 per week.
The Progressive Liberal Party committed to increasing the country’s minimum wage to $250 per week during last year’s election campaign, as well as to examine the creation of a liveable wage.
Shortly after assuming office, the Davis administration asked the National Tripartite Council, the body responsible for all labour-related matters in The Bahamas, to study the issue and provide recommendations to the government.
After months of research, the body submitted its recommendations on the matter to the government in June, which was confirmed by NTC deputy chairman and labour director Robert Farquharson last month.
While he did not want to say what the council had proposed, he noted that the recommendations submitted was a favourable one and that it would put smiles on the faces of many Bahamians.
According to the labour director, there are approximately 340,000 men and women in the labour workforce. “We know that about approximately 25 per cent of those persons are impacted by the minimum wage,” he added, “and so before the government takes a decision, the government wants to ensure that there is additional widespread discussion and consultation so we expect in the very near future a number of town meetings to be held where we will invite members of the press and public to hear what the recommendations are.
“I will not say what the figure is. I can say specifically that the recommendation will put a smile on the face of many persons who fall within that category, and it will cause them to have greater buying power.”
As it relates to the government’s plans for a “liveable” wage, Mr Bell told reporters earlier this month that government has not backtracked on its promise to deliver an acceptable “liveable” wage for Bahamian workers.
“This isn’t about something we want to coerce anyone into doing and we have to be mindful in terms of striking a very delicate balance by in terms of what it is that we want to make minimum wage or liveable wage, as well as we have to ensure that we have respect for the pocketbook of the private employers,” Mr Bell said at the time.