UPP Reiterates Call To Raise The Minimum Wage and Condemns ABLP Governments Unexplained Delay
After calls from the United Progressive Party(UPP) Leader, Harold Lovell to raise the minimum wage to a fair level, the Minister of Labour Steadroy “Cutie” Benjamin, hastily moved to convene a meeting of the National Minimum Wage Advisory Committee on Friday, February 25. Now, over 5 months later, there has been no progress or updates.
The UPP calls on the ABLP Administration to end their unconscionable delays to addressing the Minimum Wage, while also failing to tackle the rapidly rising prices of goods and services.
The United Progressive Party (UPP) Political Leader, Harold Lovell states “At present, the minimum wage stands at $8.20 an hour. This is simply not acceptable in 2022.” He further comments “The UPP’s interventions through the Minimum Wave Review committee were responsible for the increases in 2006 and 2008; and the last increase, in 2015, was the result of a review undertaken before the UPP left office. The ABLP Administration is wicked and unconscionable to leave the minimum wage unchanged for 7 years, while the costs of goods and service have rapidly risen every single year.”
The UPP maintains that the National Minimum Wage needs to be reviewed, with the objective of increasing earnings to a “National Living Wage.” and that the Minimum Wage Review Committee should make timely adjustments to ensure that the minimum wage is always in line with inflation.
The UPP Political Leader further states “While I was pleased that my call to raise the minimum wage seemingly penetrated the indifference of the Labour Minister and Gaston Browne, 5 months later it is now clear that the ABLP is not serious about ensuring that The People have a living wage which enables them to feed themselves and their families.”
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Seriously. The last minimum wage increase was in 2015. When minimum wage can’t buy a loaf of bread. Tings really bad.
For pendioners too cant survive on that
Recall when in about 2012 the then UPP said they would incrrease the mnimum wage, yet it was the ABLP who actually did it in 2015. Looking at the UPP 2009 manifesto, there is a boast on pg 24 that “it took a UPP Administration a mere four years to:
• Increase the minimum wage” Just a reminder that increasing the minimum wage takes time because it calls for public consultations
After raising the minimum wage in 2006 and 2008, UPP consultations in 2013 lead to the ALP-delayed last increase in 2015. So ALP has done ZERO work of their own in 8 years to arrive at further increases, while cost of living has gone up by double digits several times over. Pathetic! Cruel! Too busy pursuing creative enrichment.
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