Momentum stalls on minimum wage increase

Despite a year-long review process and a massive national consultation, government appears to be in no hurry to raise Cayman’s $6-an-hour minimum wage.

Labour Minister Dwayne Seymour, speaking in Parliament during the budget debate Monday evening, noted that “only 23%” of those earning minimum wage are Caymanian, while 77% were “transient” workers.

He proposed a further review of the minimum wage was needed to prevent any “mistake” being made and avoid increasing the burden on Caymanians.

He said the community will hear more on the minimum wage at “a later date,” which he did not specify, but added that there needs to be another conversation on how to help Caymanians working above minimum wage, but on stagnant salaries, in the private sector to “get the necessary uplift that they need and cost of living adjustments”.

However the minister’s position has been deemed “unacceptable,” by Deputy Opposition Leader Joey Hew, as he hit back at any delay on the update to the minimum wage.

“The Government has had the Minimum Wage Committee report since October. They have had enough time to consider it and to make a decision on it. If the Government will not act on the report then they should tell the public so and explain why. Further delay by the Government on this is unacceptable,” Hew told the Cayman Compass Tuesday in a short statement.

In September, the Compass ran an investigative series, highlighting many of the challenges for minimum wage workers, as the committee tasked with reviewing the issue researched and reported its recommendations.

The chair of that Minimum Wage Advisory Committee, Lemuel Hurlston, said the existing $6/hour rate fell below a “starvation wage“.

However, Seymour, who is also a business owner, extrapolated from the committee’s report report that only a small segment of Caymanian workers – or just under 1 in 4 of those earning the minimum wage  – will reap the benefits of an increase.

“What, in essence, I think the committee is saying is that, even if we increased it to the top number of the recommended minimum wage that they recommended, only 23% of Caymanians who are on minimum wage, will benefit from it,” he said.

This, he said, is something “very serious to pay attention to”.

‘Sectorising’ minimum wage

“We can really make a mistake if we don’t find a way to sectorise it… [so] that it doesn’t fully impact our Caymanian people whose salaries remain stagnant while services and persons that they need in their life to make their life work and remain comfortable… [their] salaries go up, while theirs remain stagnant causing additional pressures on our Caymanians,” he said.

The minister, in an interview earlier this year, had noted that when the minimum wage was introduced in 2016, nannies’ salaries doubled from $3 to $6 per hour, affecting Caymanians “who needed a nanny to care for their children, and now they can’t afford it so they have got to share a nanny now”.

Seymour told legislators on Monday that the conversation on the minimum wage is not complete, as caucus and Cabinet want to take “another look at it” and have stakeholders and the Opposition members read the report.

Though he said he was trying to be “sensitive” with his assessment, Seymour said the government does not want to repeat the “unforeseen circumstances” which followed the introduction of the minimum wage in 2016.

He said at that time, salaries in one sector of the economy doubled, in essence causing “havoc”. Meanwhile, Caymanian salaries remained stagnant, mostly in the private sector.

Government, he said, has to make a “good, informed decision” and bring in the “right people” to try to help with this issue.

“If we make the wrong decision with this, it can really cripple certain elements in our industry. I say that with all respect,” Seymour stated.

“We need to recognise what it is and where we are and what economy we’re living in,” he added.

The full report from the review committee has not been made public.