The report recommending Cayman’s new minimum wage has been delivered to government for review and further action.
A Labour Ministry spokesperson confirmed to the Cayman Compass on Monday that the Minimum Wage Review Committee handed over its report last week, completing months of consultations and deliberations on the long-awaited wage adjustment.
Now that the report has been received, it will be presented to Cabinet for review and a decision on the recommendations.
“The next steps is for a Cabinet Paper to be finalised so it can be placed on the agenda for Cabinet to discuss. Once this happens it will be made public. The digital document will be placed on the Ministry and Government website for public viewing,” the ministry told the Compass.
As this work progresses in the coming weeks, the ministry added, it will ensure the media will be duly updated.
Acting Labour Ministry Chief Officer Debbie Ann Whittaker, in an emailed comment, said, “The Ministry wishes to express sincere gratitude for the brilliant report presented by the Minimum Wage Advisory Committee, and greatly appreciates the hard work, thoroughness and depth of research and deliberations of the committee.”
The review of Cayman’s minimum wage, which currently stands at $6 an hour, commenced earlier this year.
Committee chairman Lemuel Hurlston, speaking on the Cayman Compass talkshow ‘The Resh Hour’ earlier this year, said the existing minimum wage could not continue.
He said based on Economic and Statistics Office data, Cayman’s “starvation income or starvation wage” stands at around $6.50, which is 50 cents higher than the current $6-an-hour minimum wage.
The Compass, in its Issues series last month, highlighted challenges workers face surviving on the existing minimum wage and what it would take to get to a wage on par with others within the region like Bermuda.
The current minimum wage went into effect on 1 March 2016 under former Premier Alden McLaughlin’s administration.
The $6 hourly rate was established as the minimum wage for most Cayman Islands employees.
Service employees who receive gratuities earn a minimum hourly rate of $4.50 and special calculations apply for live-in household domestic workers, as well as for people earning commission.
In 2019, McLaughlin announced a review would be undertaken with a view to moving the needle upward for local workers.
However, that review only commenced this year under former Deputy Premier Chris Saunders, who was then labour minister.
The committee not only looked at the issue of wages, but also how gratuities should be dealt with and whether wages should be categorised by industry, among other items of concern.
With the delivery of the report come the matters of acceptance of the new wage, its impact on local businesses and enforcement.
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