We are disappointed that Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley has decided to sidestep the advice of his own Minimum Wage Advisory Committee and increase the baseline hourly wage only to $7.25 instead of the recommended $9.
The move is particularly unwelcome on the heels of his eleventh-hour decision last December to delay the $8.50 minimum that originally had been scheduled to take effect at the end of November.
Deciding to up the wage should not be terribly difficult.
The $6 minimum currently in place is far too low. For someone working full time, it amounts to $240 per week, or $960 per month. That wouldn’t even cover rent on most small studio apartments in the Virgin Islands — let alone food, transportation, health care and other expenses.
The $1.25 hourly increase now due in July will bring those figures up to $290 per week and $1,160 per month — compared to $340 and $1,360 under the $8.50 figure.
None of these salaries is a living wage in the VI — even for a single person, to say nothing of a family — and we are troubled that employers appear to have quietly pressured the premier to walk back the previous plans.
Indeed, any employer still paying the minimum should examine their practices — and their conscience.
Nevertheless, any increase is better than nothing, and we were glad to hear the premier say that his government will consider implementing further increases in a phased manner.
We also take his point that any increase could cause prices to rise at a time when dramatic inflation is already hitting pocketbooks in the territory. But a major spike in prices seems unlikely even from a $2.50 increase.
We are also troubled by the unilateral manner in which Mr. Wheatley appears to be making such decisions. Why appoint an advisory committee to carry out research and consult the public only to ignore its advice? We wonder which stakeholders he consulted in the meantime.
Whoever they were, such unilateral decision-making is not the type of leadership the VI needs.
Moving forward, the government should revert to its original plan and increase the wage to at least $8.50 as soon as possible. Then it should set up a transparent system to periodically review the situation and ensure that the wage keeps up with the times.
A reasonable minimum wage is an important mechanism for protecting society’s most vulnerable members. The Virgin Islands is most certainly wealthy enough to make it happen.
