Minister of  Labour and Social Security Karl Samuda has received the national minimum wage report, which was compiled by the National Minimum Wage Advisory Commission, based on consultations, and was submitted to the Government for review.

Speaking during the Standing Finance Committee’s review of the 2023-24 Estimates of Expenditure in the House of Representatives today (March 2), Samuda said: “I have been given the report by the Minimum Wage Commission, and I know what is being proposed but it is one of those levels of confidentiality that I suspect… the violation of it would send me to jail. At least I view it as confidential as that, but it is in the possession of the permanent secretary and myself and those who put it together.”

He noted that the national minimum wage was last increased on April 1, 2022.

“It was on that day that I gave a commitment, because it had been lingering out there for a long time prior to that announcement, and I gave a commitment that I would seek to have the national minimum wage… reviewed and reported on annually and it is my expectation that we will be within the timeframe that was projected. The report is presently in our possession,” he said.

The minimum wage was increased by 28.5 per cent on April 1, 2022, from $7,000 to $9,000 per 40-hour work week or from $175 to $225 per hour, while the minimum wage for industrial security guards moved from $9,700 to $10,500 per 40-hour work week or from $242.50 to $262.50 per hour.

The National Minimum Wage Advisory Commission consists of representatives from the ministry, the Jamaica Employers’ Federation (JEF), representing employers, and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU), representing workers.

It is responsible for obtaining and recording information about wages and remuneration, conditions of work and other factors affecting the circumstances of employment.