Prime Minister John Briceño does not share the view of the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) that the private sector would need to add BDZ$200 million (One Belize dollar=US$0.49 cents) to the existing payroll to meet the five-dollar-an-hour increase in the minimum wage for all categories of workers an hour, effective January 1, 2023.
“I am just appealing to the private sector to do their part. They are going to benefit you know, because the more money people have the more they can spend, the more they can afford to go and buy in their stores.
“So, the private sector they are going to benefit, and most businesses are already paying more than five dollars per hour, than what we are proposing. I think of the hundred thousand plus workers, bout thirty thousand are earning less than five dollars. So, by doing all of this will be getting in effect a much-needed raise,’ Prime Minister Briceño said.
On Thursday, the government signed into law, Statutory Instrument Number 170 which states that the minimum wage for all categories of workers has increased to five dollars an hour, effective January 1, 2023.
A government statement said the new increase in the minimum wage is part of its overall strategy to combat poverty and reduce inequality, as outlined in Plan Belize.
It said as a part of this wage adjustment exercise, the Ministry of Labour is currently reviewing a wage-setting methodology that will be used periodically to determine future minimum wage increases.
But the BCCI, which has objected to the immediate implementation of the increase from the existing BDZ$3.50 an hour, said the increase to five dollars will add BDZ$200 million to the private sector’s wage bill overnight.
“That is a concern because a lot of businesses are still, we talk about Belize is growing, in economic circles we are talking about nascent recovery,” BCCI chief policy analyst, Dyon Elliot, told reporters recently.
“We are talking about just coming out of 2020, almost 14 to 16 percent recession. We are getting back on our feet. A lot of companies are still struggling even getting back to normal. So that is still happening and I use the analogy on a TV show today, just imagine it is raining and the ground is now flooded and saturated and on top of that comes more rain, you see how the ground is flooded. So, you are already competing with record inflation.
Elliot said the private sector is saying that could lead to some adverse effects on the employees that you are trying to consider.
CMC/
