The President of the Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise [MSME] Alliance, Donovan Wignall, has described the recently announced increase in the national minimum wage as an improvement but he maintains that it has not yet met the requirement for a liveable wage.
Mr Wignal, speaking Sunday on Radio Jamaica's That's a Rap, observed that, given the current cost of living for the average minimum wage earner, the increase is a sign of progress but remains inadequate.
He said some private companies have already been paying above the soon to be implemented minimum wage while others will have to make adjustments to accommodate it.
Mr. Wignall also suggested that the government and private companies could collaborate in seeing to the increase that companies will have to pay when the new minimum wage takes effect.
He said, with discussions about how the cost of living has outpaced current wages, the state could provide non-monetary assistance such as food stamps and travel allowances to make up the difference in salary.
