Minimum Wage Of Between $16 – $16.40
“The minimum wage rate set to come into force in June 2023 will be between $16 and $16.40,” the Government announced today.
In his Labour Day message, Minister Hayward said, “The implementation of a minimum wage reflects the social justice ethos of the Progressive Labour Party Government, ensuring that a fair day’s wage is paid for a fair day’s work.
“And so, designed to be a statutory wage floor, it is proposed that Bermuda’s minimum wage will be set between $16.00 and $16.40, which will be considered one of the highest in the world.
“Hospitality workers who receive tips and gratuities and personal care workers who primarily receive remuneration through commission will have a minimum wage set at 75% of the ordinary minimum wage, equating to a fixed rate of between $12 and $12.30.”
The full Establishing a Minimum Wage in Bermuda report follows below [PDF here]:
Guess someone was listening to the talk show yesterday.
#weareclueless
And businesses close because they are already on the brink, hoteliers open elsewhere, bars stay shut. This is basic economics.
As is Bermuda’s population has stagnated for decades, we need more ghastly foreigners to ‘take Bermudian jobs’, or maybe to create them by their spending.
Now fancy that. Basic economics, we need more people.
No, Roger, no!
Our PLP Government took measures 15 years ago to drive nearly 8,000 jobs from Bermuda and with them an even greater number of those horrible foreigners. We now have exactly what our PLP Government wanted.
Don’t go throwing cold water on our PLP Government’s plans or introducing basic economics or common sense!
We should try less people and become more efficient
Less people? So the government will continue to squeeze more dollars out of the shrinking population of taxpayers to pay the debt service costs, which must come first before paying anything or anyone else.
Who’s living off of $2,700 a month when a studio cost $1,500 and one weeks groceries is at least $200 lol. This is why the young generation are leaving because they will never be able to afford a home in their own country. The only way to get a place is if it’s passed down. So you have 30 year olds who are still living at home with their own kids . It will continue to get worse if you take care of the seniors but literally leave the youth out in the cold
More unemployment. Thanks PLP.
I’m not convinced that this is going to accomplish what it is intended to. If labour costs are going up, that means things are going to become more expensive. Either that or employers will reduce their number of workers to keep costs the same. Both options are not ideal. Let’s not celebrate too soon!
And also by next April all of Governments taxes. Insurance and more will be going up. Lots more emergency housing is going to be set up.
“I’m not convinced that this is going to accomplish what it is intended to.”
If economic theory holds true, it will not.
As has been observed above, this will only serve to increase the cost of living in Bermuda and hence the cost of locally attributable price inflation.
Generally speaking, when Governments try to control prices, be it by price control restrictions (such as rent control laws) or by minimum wages (such as this “living wage”) the attempts tend to have the opposite effect of that stated to be the objective.
How cute. Now in reality which employers are going to absorb these costs and not raise prices or get rid of employees? Also will skilled workers wages go up because an unskilled worker is making more?
The same people who are complaining every day about the cost of living and grocery prices will still be seen at all the usual take out food joints picking up their pizzas and chicken moaning that fries have gone up by $3 , hamburgers by $4 , pizzas by $8 chicken by $10 and so on .
But they’ll still keep buying the stuff all the while complaining about the ‘killing’ that grocery stores are making when they could feed themselves for 2 days off of what they pay for one take out.
Exactly. I watch people get takeout for lunch every day and then complain about not having any money. I’m like, “sir, if you don’t buy a $6 coffee with your $20 sandwich 5 days a week…”
PLP reality.
$16 an hour?? Then take away deductions( Health insurance, social insurance, pension and payroll tax equals about $10 an hour. Then minus the basics ie (rent, food, electricity transportation) equals -$1500 a month for a single person. No wonder people are exiting this overpriced island.
Why dont you plp government take home $16.00 an hour see what kind of living you can survive on what a joke cant live off that with all these high prices and still not surving but you the PLP are living large and your people are not surving take a LARGE PAY CUT and live like the rest of us
Rolf Commissiong for raising and pursuing the idea. Looks good on them 5 years later but it has been done and historians will note your leadership and vision. I hope Bermudians do the same and thank you.
the low wage ex-pats are happy!
Fundamentally, a minimum wage isn’t a bad idea in a functioning economy – it’s a decent long term strategy. The problem is, the Bermuda economy has no fat in it to absorb the extra costs that will be presented up front. Businesses are already on their knees and this will be another nail in coffin.
But, true to form PLP. A good rabble rousing announcement just before labour day to their traditional support base. Politics as usual.
And dare I says it, still skirting around the real issues of demographics.
Bermuda’s local inflation rate is currently 3.7%, according to the PLP Government. That is on top of the inflation rate of our major trading partners, which is in excess of 9%.
We are now back in the double-digit inflation days of the late 1970s and early 1980s. And our PLP Government wants to drive inflation even higher by interfering with commercial reality.