Lawmakers in the Cayman Islands have agreed, finally, that this country needs to set a basic minimum wage.
The question to be answered, though, is how much.
North Side MLA Ezzard Miller has been pounding so hard at this issue until his hands must feel like a bloody, ragged mess. His success came late last week.
Mr. Miller’s proposal was that the minimum be set at $5. It’s not likely that will be the final figure.
But it’s a starting point… and we’ll again use the word ‘finally’.
In November of 2007 the Caymanian Compass reported on a study done by Caribbean labour and management consultant Samuel J. Goolsarran, which was commissioned by the Ministry of Employment earlier that year.
While Mr. Goolsarran did not recommend a specific rate for the minimum wage, he did urge the formation of a national minimum wage advisory council to study the matter.
We have to commend the independent member for being tenacious in his call for a minimum wage for workers in the Cayman Islands, and to the members of the House who voted for the proposal.
Now we will have to sit back and see what final figure is attached to the minimum wage and to which sectors of businesses it will apply.
Lawmakers will have to carefully balance the effects of a minimum wage on employers and businesses. Everyone should be paid a fair wage, but no minimum wage should be introduced that would encourage cheap, foreign labour in certain industry sectors. The wage must be fair to all and encourage Caymanians to enter the workforce.
We all know that the cost of living is extremely high in the Cayman Islands, as it is on most islands because the bulk of the goods we consume must be shipped in.
So any minimum wage must ensure that people and families are able to economically make ends meet.
It is good that we finally have all lawmakers agreeing that a minimum wage is needed in the Cayman Islands.
Let’s hope that it doesn’t take another 10 years or more for them to agree on a figure.
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