Bahamas: National minimum wage increased by 40%

The Bahamas government say it has increased the national minimum wage by 40 percent.

Labor, National Insurance and Public Service Minister Shane Gibson said that he had signed the Minimum Wages Order to increase the minimum wage to US$210 per week or US$42 per day or US$5.25 per hour.

“I am very pleased to publicly announce and formally communicate to Parliament that the Government of the Bahamas, acting on a recommendation from the National Tripartite Council, has taken a decision to increase the National Minimum Wage,” Gibson said, adding that the new order comes into effect from August 15, once it gets approval from Parliament.

“The new minimum wage is a 40 percent increase, and while we in the government would have liked to have seen it a bit higher, we have accepted the recommendation of the National Tripartite Council and acted accordingly,” Gibson said.

He said he was told that the council “deliberated, agonized and analyzed” data acquired locally and internationally as well as compared legislation from a number of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) members states before coming to agreement on a final figure for the new national minimum wage.

Gibson said, additionally, the council will monitor the cost of living and the retail price index and is prepared to recommend additional increases to ensure that weekly wage of Bahamian workers is able to keep pace with any increase in these indexes.

He has also dispelled a notion that the increase in the minimum wage would lead to higher levels of unemployment.

Gibson warned “unscrupulous employers” against trying to undermine the increase and deliberately and intentionally withholding the increment from “hard working Bahamians.”

He said the Inspectorate Unit of the Department of Labor has been instructed to implement a comprehensive inspection plan to ensure that there is compliance and will aggressively pursue violators and prosecute them to the full extent of the law. -(CMC)