Video: Meeting On Living/Minimum Wage
The Ministry of Labour, Community Affairs and Sports is holding a town hall meeting this evening [May 2] to discuss a minimum/living wage for Bermuda.
A spokesperson previously said, “The public will recall that the Minister of Labour, Community Affairs and Sports Lovitta Foggo, recently announced that the Government is seeking to set up a Wage Commission to consult with key stakeholders regarding the establishment and implementation of a living/minimum wage.
“This follows the tabling of a report by the Parliamentary Joint Select Committee [JSC] last year on The Establishment of a Living/Minimum Wage Regime which listed the creation of a Wage Commission as one of its recommendations.
“The Commission will be responsible for conducting research, consulting and providing a report to the Minister on their work which will include recommendations for the establishment of a living/minimum wage.
“The Ministry is embarking on a public consultation process by facilitating a series of town hall meetings hosted by the Chairman of the JSC. The aim is to provide more information and discussion on the topic.
“Legislation is currently in the works to enable the creation of the Commission so that their work can begin. The panelists include Chairman of the JSC, Rolfe Commissioning, Chief Financial Officer at Anchor Investment Management Ltd., Nathan Kowalski, Statistician Cordell Riley, Lawyer Philip Perinchief and Bermuda Industrial Union President Chris Furbert.”
The live video has concluded and the 2-hour replay is below
Snoozefest
Unless more parents start caring more about their kids education, nothing matters.
Education is a very big part. Additionally, unless we address the breakdown of the nuclear family, nothing is going to change.
Will we be allowed to see the economic impact statement of the effects of a “living wage”?
The highest expense for most people is housing (finding a comfortable home). Yes? …. so a living wage is relative to how we live. Yes?
Well, regulate the rental market! Tax the homeowners charging the ridiculous rents – the higher the rent – the more the landlord must pay to the public purse. Make sure that there is no passing the buck to the renter, and give renters a means to report landlords for deceptiveness practices (with HEFTY fines for doing so). Information on rents can be verified at TCD when renewing your car or bike license (with a copy of the lease agreements).
Every rental and house sale should be investigated to make sure that Bermudians are not being prejudiced and that the asking price is fair for the property. (ie: What was paid for the house when the seller bought it (back in the day) and what has been done to it since, should come into consideration when setting the price.)
Tax the exempt companies who pay large housing allowances (any housing allowances over $3k should be taxed, and the higher the allowance, the higher the tax % needs to be.
This is easy money for the government to be collecting:
Have you seen the amount of rentals listed TODAY for over $5k (you have to go to page 11 on Propertyskipper to see rentals below $5k). Tell me what Bermudians are renting for over $5K while raising families? This is just wrong! How are we supposed to save and build personal wealth – when the already-wealthy just keep draining us?
Making “living comfortable for all”, means everyone should be able to work (as little or as hard as they want) to achieve their OWN dreams (that’s an equal opportunity country – also while acknowledging that everyone’s dreams are different because not everyone wants a 5,000 sq foot home).
ALSO, all landowners with MULTIPLE properties should be further taxed, so that MAYBE they will stop hoarding properties and driving the rents up! These multiple property owners have so many properties that they can’t maintain them all – they let the properties become run down, and then they want to turn around and sell them for millions, so that some poor schmuck can go out and get a Million dollar mortgage to pay for a house that hasn’t had anything done to it in decades… This has to stop.
STOP Taking out huge mortgages – stop going into debt for the rich! They bought those properties CHEAP, have banked the rental payments, and now are selling for millions…. DON’T DO IT!
Stop the cycle of debt! Bermudians are too happy to go into debt, as if the money will always flow in.
We need to change that mindset! Buy what you can afford! Can’t afford it with CASH – don’t buy it. It’s easier than you think. The longer these houses sit on the market – the more the prices will come down.
A base rent of $1,300 / mo = over $15,000 /yr.
Base electricity of $150 / mo = ~$2,000 / yr min.
Base transport cost (bus fare/car or bike fuel) min of $80/mo = ~ $1,000 / yr. …. these total $18,000 / yr. This does not even factor in food and medicine or other vital costs, or even insurance and license fees for your vehicle. Health insurance is so atrociously expensive here (and only so they can make profit at our expense and suffering), that it is about $10,000 a year roughly. This means it costs $28,000 a year to live, without a dollar for food! And we know that even if you eat and buy like a beggar, it easily costs $150/wk or $600/mo, which is ~$7,000 /yr. So with food, you are looking at $35,000 / yr just to live. This still does not include many basic elements or requirements of normal life expenses. I make just over $45,000 / yr before any deductions. After deductions, I am left with only $34,000. So after working a good and technical job for 11 years, I have not a penny to my name, nothing for retirement, you have the government threatening to rob me of my pensions I paid into all these hard working years. I have no future, no hope. This is our island. I eat about one meal per day, and I have lost 50 lbs over these years due to this. This is why we need a proper wage installed as law. So people like me dont have to suffer any more. Give us a chance, at least. I would need to save at least $150,000 for government base health insurance alone when I retire, ignoring inflation, so it looks like my future is shot dead as is now.
if its not 25 per hour I aint workin