The government of Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell is planning to increase the minimum wage level in Grenada from early in the New Year.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Labour & Consumer Affairs Sen. Claudette Joseph was given the task by government to engage in consultation on the Minimum Wage issue.
In presenting the 2024 Budget in Parliament on Monday, Finance Minister Dennis Cornwall announced that “for the very first time, a basic minimum wage of $60 per day across all sectors will be introduced.”
“…We will implement the equalisation of the minimum wage across gender, a historic move towards ensuring that our women receive equitable compensation for their work as compared with men and vice versa,” he said.
According to Minister Cornwall following months of consultations and discussions with citizens the government is now moving “to ensure a balanced approach for employers and employees”, and as such workers will experience a change in their living situations as the minimum wage will be increased in January 2024.
“As a caring and conscientious government, committed to fostering economic justice and uplifting the lives of our citizens, we have taken decisive steps to rectify this unconscionable situation,” he said.
The minister noted that some citizens have not had a salary increase since the last minimum wage review in 2011.
He said that Grenadians will encounter a shift that will consider the “less fortunate working class in our society” that has been neglected and disregarded, working for “as little as $500 a month.”
In taking a “significant step towards a fair and just economic system”, the minister pointed out that security guards and cleaners among other workers will see a change in their minimum wage.
The minister also addressed the critical issue of Pension Reform in keeping with a high court ruling that paved the way for all public officers to be guaranteed a State-paid Pension.
With many retirees expressing gratitude to the Dickon Mitchell-led administration for the payment of their pension, he said that focus will now have to shift to “pension reform” to ensure that the workforce is “happy, optimistic, productive, efficient, and effective.”
He added that in order to guarantee such a workforce, the government has pledged to establish “sustainable wage bill management.”
“…Through discriminatory employment practices, including various types of employment contracts, a significant segment of Government employees is without a public sector pension. The pension reform will address this injustice, while ensuring that the pension of existing permanent employees is secured,” he said.
Minister Cornwall told Parliament that the Pension Review Committee that was created in November 2022 has shown remarkable results in crafting a new “pension plan” which will take into account important points disclosed in discussions between the government and stakeholders.
During his 2024 Budget presentation, the Minister while showing his appreciation to the Pension Review Committee, made the announcement that “$1.6 million” will be put towards the “government’s contribution to the new pension plan.”
He said the initiative to be executed in the first six months of 2024 will allow government workers to have a pension after years of not being able to qualify for one.