News that the minimum wage in the Caribbean Netherlands will go up to $1,750 per month (see related story) is obviously welcome for residents earning the lowest legal salary or applying for jobs that pay such from July next year. Concerns about less positive socioeconomic consequences have been eased somewhat by plans to partly compensate employers for the additional cost.
The monthly minimum wage for adults age 21 or more is already increasing effective January 1 in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba to respectively $1,570, $1,555 and $1,654. There will also be a hike in social allowances AOV/AWW and the child benefit as of next year, while bills for electricity, water and Internet are being reduced with subsidies.
It took a while, but discrepancies in level of prosperity between the European and Caribbean parts of the kingdom are seemingly being addressed at last. This is a gradual process also because, let’s face it, the so-called BES islands are not in Europe.
The latest announcement follows the report “A dignified existence” by the Social Minimum Committee Caribbean Netherlands under the chairmanship of Glenn Thodé. On the initiative of Dutch Second Chamber of Parliament members Jorien Wuite (D66) and Don Ceder (CU) additional money was then released for the increase, including compensation for entrepreneurs.
The latter is very important to prevent raging inflation due to the hike. This is something St. Maarten too should learn from as it considers further increases of its own.
Expanding the basic goods basket under government supervision is one thing, but one can’t possibly control all prices and ultimately any business will be forced to pass on added expenses to the consumer if they negatively impact the bottom line. Support in covering these could make all the difference.
