Above-inflation minimum wage increases get backing
EMPLOYERS will have to pay an hourly rate of at least £12 to adults and £10.80 to under-18s from October.
The States backed above-inflation increases in the minimum wage, with only two deputies voting against – Mark Helyar and David De Lisle – after an amendment calling for smaller increases had already been defeated.
The new adult rate was calculated to be worth 60% of average earnings in the island for the first time, in line with a policy started by the States in 2018, and the new youth rate will reach 90% of the adult rate, in line with a States direction of 2022.
‘At the moment, Guernsey’s minimum wage is lower than Jersey, the Isle of Man and the UK, which is not something I take particular pride in,’ said Employment & Social Security president Peter Roffey.
‘By setting it at £12 an hour, we would at least briefly overtake Jersey by a mere 36p, but only for six months because their council of ministers has recently announced that their minimum wage will increase to £13 an hour from April next year.’
Minimum wage rates in the UK and Isle of Man are also expected to exceed the rates in Guernsey again during the first half of next year.
Deputy Roffey said the rates proposed by his committee would place Guernsey ‘firmly in the pack but towards the back of the pack’ when compared with these other places, which ESS is required by law to take into account when proposing minimum wage changes.
He also said there were ethical and fairness considerations which members should think about before voting.
‘Given the high cost of living in Guernsey, I have to ask whether members really feel that it is justifiable for local businesses to pay adult members of our community less than £12 an hour for their employment. We on ESS certainly don’t think so,’ he said.
Deputy Sue Aldwell agreed and said her ‘conscience would not allow’ her to vote for a rate of less than £12 an hour, which she described as still ‘quite low’.
Yvonne Burford argued that most workers in low pay were women and warned that poorly paid workers often had to be assisted by other taxpayers through the benefits system.
She had heard the same arguments trying to limit increases in the minimum wage every year she had been in the States.
‘I would best describe it as jam tomorrow,' said Deputy Burford.
‘One member after another stands up to say how they of course support increasing pay for the lowest-paid in our society before going on to say that conditions are not right today and we’ll do it next time.
‘But people have food, clothing and housing costs today, and next time never actually comes.’
Deputy Lester Queripel said it would be ‘counter-productive for Guernsey’s minimum wage to lag behind other places’ and could make it harder for the island to recruit and retain staff.
Marc Leadbeater would like to have seen the adult minimum wage rate set a little higher than £12 but supported the proposals from ESS.
‘We are always told we need to support business, like retail and hospitality, but what about the people who work within retail and hospitality, who keep the wheels moving and without whom the businesses would not survive at all,’ said Deputy Leadbeater.
‘Who is representing the people who earn minimum wages?
‘That’s our job and that’s what we’re here to do today.’
Having reached the policy target of setting the adult minimum wage rate at 60% of average earnings, ESS considered but for two reasons decided against proposing a new long-term policy of increasing that percentage in future years.
‘First, quite soon we will start to get real data on how many people are actually paid the minimum wage. Second, the States is due to make changes to the way median earnings are calculated. It would be foolish to lock ourselves into a new medium-term plan until all of that information is known,’ said Deputy Roffey.
