Published by Youri Kemp, Nassau Guardian, December 10th, 2024
The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation’s (BCCEC) labor division head said that businesses cannot absorb any more minimum wage increases, arguing that there is a limit to what businesses can pay.
Peter Goudie told Guardian Business: “The minimum wage was increased so much the time before, and national insurance just got increased. They’re talking about bringing national health care, and that may be coming out of companies and paychecks. I mean there’s a limit to what businesses can pay.”
The impact of these increases on businesses is a concern for the BCCEC. It has gone on record numerous times saying that it opposes any new taxes on businesses. “The government has to be able to afford these increases too,” Goudie added.
He continued: “There are two people who pay around here, and that’s businesses and the government. The unions don’t pay anything. I don’t think businesses are ready for another increase right now.”
Goudie was reacting to what National Tripartite Council (TPC) Chairperson Sharon Martin said recently in The Tribune newspaper, that the TPC is in the process of selecting a committee to operationalize a livable wage in the country. Goudie said: “I don’t know that it’s going to be authorized, but if she wants to form a committee, she can, because the minister of labor [Pia Glover-Rolle] has been calling for that.”
Glover-Rolle in late September expressed hope to reporters that a livable wage would be introduced during her government’s term in office, but said officials must first ensure it makes fiscal sense.
Goudie, who sits on the TPC, noted: “This committee hasn’t been formed yet, and in my honest opinion I don’t know when it will be formed, because the minimum wage got increased by 24 percent the last time, and if the minister is calling for the minimum wage to be reviewed again, that’s fine, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be authorized.”
Glover-Rolle also said in early October that there are ongoing discussions about another hike in the minimum wage. The last time the minimum wage was increased was in January, when it went from $210 per week to $260 per week.
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