The Department of Labour in the Ministry of Communication, Works, Labour and Energy (MCWLE) is currently consulting the public on the establishment of a National Minimum Wage, and they have organised a series of town hall meetings to begin on Wednesday March 2, 2022.
The Ministry recognises the importance of public consultation and is taking the opportunity to gather views, evidence and data from all interested parties, prior to the Introduction of Minimum
Wage Legislation in Montserrat.
The Town Hall sessions will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to meet face to face to discuss the establishment of a National Minimum Wage. The Town Halls will take place at the following locations during the consultation period (the consultation ends on Thursday March 31, 2022):
ST. JOHN’S – St. John’s Community Centre – Wednesday, 2 March 2022 – 4:30pm – 6:30pm
BRADES – Brades Arts & Education Centre – Wednesday, 9 March 2022 – 4:30pm – 6:30pm
DAVY HILL – Davy Hill Wesleyan Holiness Church – Wednesday, 16 March 2022 – 4:30pm – 6:30pm
SALEM – Salem Methodist Hall – Wednesday, 23 March 2022 – 4:30pm – 6:30pm
At present, Montserrat does not have a National Minimum Wage, so there is no legislation in place to protect workers against unduly low pay.
Labour Commissioner, Rudolph Christopher, said, “There are many people here in Montserrat who work for very low wages, in fact as low as $5.00 per hour. They work almost every day and
have very little time off. In addition, the cost of basic food continues to rise with every shipment that is imported.”
Mr. Christopher further noted that a minimum Wage will allow such persons to live a better life.
“In the end it will be the difference between affording electricity or not, it is the difference between sending a child to school with breakfast or not, and in the end it is the difference between living a decent life or not. That is why we have been working with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), who has worked with over 50 countries around the world and of course taking into account our own unique circumstances into consideration, have used the tripeptide principle in the recommendation of a Minimum Wage for Montserrat,” explained the Labour Commissioner.
The Department of Labour is also encouraging members of the public and key stakeholders to complete the National Minimum Wage survey on the Government website and submissions can
also be made in the following ways:
1. Visit the online survey portal HERE and submit your feedback;
2. Email your submission as an attachment (PDF or Word doc) to labour@gov.ms with
‘Montserrat Minimum Wage Survey Submission’ in the title; or
3. Post (Submit hardcopy) your submission to ‘Montserrat Minimum Wage Survey
Submission’, Department of Labour, MCWLE Building, Brades, Montserrat.
Following the public consultation, the Department of Labour will carefully review all input and publish the stakeholders' submissions and a summary of the main findings on the Government of Montserrat’s (www.gov.ms) website.
To learn more about the public consultation and how to become involved, contact the Department of Labour at (664) 491-4010 / 491-4020 or by email at labour@gov.ms.
Interested parties are invited to submit their views on the National Minimum Wage until 4pm on Thursday March 31, 2022.
Direct link to survey https://bit.ly/montserratminimumwage
