Jamaica set to increase minimum wage in April

Jamaica’s Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Nigel Clarke, announced on Tuesday that the national minimum wage will be increased in April.

Clarke did not state the level of increase but indicated that the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Karl Samuda, is to make the disclosure.

He (Clarke), noted that an increase would help in making the lives of minimum wage earners more comfortable.

The cabinet last approved an increase of 28.5 percent in the national minimum wage on April 1, 2022. With that increase, the rate moved from J$7,000 (US$46) to J$9,000 (US$59) per 40-hour workweek.

The last increase in the minimum wage also saw the rate paid to industrial security guards move from J$9,700 (US$64) to J$10,500 (US$69) per 40-hour work week, along with accompanying allowances. -(CMC)