Two Hour Video: ‘Living Wage’ Panel Discussion
“The Living Wage – Relief is on the Way” panel discussion took place this evening [Oct 18] and you can watch the two-hour video of the presentation below.
Panelists include statistician Cordell Riley, Rev Nicholas Tweed, MP Rolfe Commissiong, and Family Centre Executive Director Martha Dismont, while MP Kim Swan is moderating the discussion. It has been proposed that the Living Wage is set at $12.25 per hour as of May 1, 2019, then at $18.23 as of May 1, 2020.
Update 8.25pm: The live broadcast has concluded and the 2-hour replay is below
Wait….is Tweed saying capitalism sucks??? #notsosecretcastro?
Ooo. That won’t get much fintech investment.
I hope Rolf has brushed up on bis vocal skills,that press conference was comedy gold.
“Are we live”.BAHAHA
Light on facts and heavy on anecdotal ‘evidence’. Why didn’t anybody ask the question, “Are there any, ANY negatives to a government enforced minimum wage?”
Scary part was the slurry from the panel of “capitalism sucks, socialism rocks”.
1. We need a larger population on island to help lower cost of living. So many talented Bermudians leaving island for better opportunity and so many expats who have contributed to our economy leaving and those jobs not being replaced.
FACT Smaller Population = Higher cost of living for the rest of us on island.
2. A quality education offers real economic empowerment. Income inequality for a large portion of our black Bermudian population is a direct result of our failed public education system.
EDUCATE our children and have our schools graduate qualified, ambitious and hungry to succeed young Bermudians and these problems will go away.
Cost of living is high for everyone – businesses included. Being mandated to pay the pot washer in the popular “back of town” restaurant $20 an hour instead of $9 will only lead to that job being lost….. Or many jobs being lost when that restaurant closes its doors.
FACT. Be Bold in providing world class education for our students and economic Opportunities will open if we have a bright, educated crop of graduating high school students every year with talents to bring to the competitive, global workforce in Bermuda today.
Last Election was 25-12 or something similar? Looks like we might have had one or two persons in each voting jurisdiction even bothered to show up. If you remove the staunch supporters that show up at every event, the reporters, the families of the panelists – this is a poor showing. Either poorly planed or the people don’t care.
I think most people just know it’s a done deal and the legislation is printed and ready to go. These are just for show – as evidence from the quality of discussion.
Why are so many retired folks there?
That audience look like mostly retired individuals
Um Um Like and Sickofantz the elderly are paying attention and have experienced first hand oppression. Majority of the young people are glued to their phones, worshiping celebrities and into materialism.
Also you both do not have a glue whether it was just starting or wrapping up. You both sound like children.
They are only stating what they see, and i see it as well, a bunch of old people being pandered to.
Name calling sounds more childish to me, but whom am i?!
Gimmie a break, praying before talking about money…. LMFAO
These messages are very relevant to today’s society in Bermuda. We need to invest in Bermudians. If we do NOT invest in Bermudians, we will suffer in our society in the future with increased crime and societal problems.
We need to educate all Bermudians, not just the ones that can afford the best education. We need to train Bermudians for skilled labour. We need skilled labourers in Bermuda. We need to bring back schools that teach basic training for our hospitality industry, service industry, international business.
We need empathy and understanding in our community. We need to assist each other. We need to love each other more. We need to show our support to people who are struggling. We need to give people a leg up. We are a rich country but our society is poor.
A living wage is a basic necessity that is long overdue in Bermuda. I would urge all Bermudians to listen to these speakers and put aside any party lines and really listen to the issues facing Bermuda. We can fix these issues together.
tick tock tick tock…who is going to pay for the increases…tick tock…
should be like communist Russia everyone gets a loaf of bread
Is the tail waging the dog or the dog being the Peoples Campaign or are the Peoples Campaign integrated into the PLP. Then there is the issue of the Union which I take it are represented by the people on the panel.
Who represents the business community or small Bermudian shop owners?
The big question is, how many local businesses whether locally or foreign owned can afford to stay in business paying a proper wage? I think you will see this affect business owners a lot. That said, I am in favor of paying a fair wage. The cost of living should not be so high and wage so low that it prevents a Bermudian from being able to at least save for a future.