Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis to hear from Minimum Wage Committee Soon

Basseterre, St. Kitts (SKNSOURCE) — The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis will soon hear from the committee charged with revising the nation’s minimum wage, according to Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew. 

That declaration was made on Thursday, October 5, during “The Roundtable,” a special interview with Prime Minister Dr. Drew. 

“We are going to wrap up very soon based on what the committee is telling me. Of course our aim is at the $500 end and there might be recommendations should we do it in two steps based on the economy and so forth.”

The Ministry of Employment and Labour, through its Minimum Wage Advisory Committee, is working closely with its tripartite partners and other agencies/institutions to review the current minimum wage in St. Kitts and Nevis, and to determine the best way forward, given factors such as inflation and the consumer price index.

Mr. Sam Condor, a former deputy prime minister and minister of labour with a degree in economics, is the chairman of the Minimum Wage Advisory Committee. The government, civil society and the private sector are represented on the committee. 

Prime Minister Dr. Drew continued: “To ask this administration to do this in less than a year, when you have to go through the processes, you have to understand that it is not possible to do it so soon. You have to meet and have consultations with the private sector, the workers’ union, the government, and other stakeholders. But we have been working hard. We have brought in a specialist from Barbados to deal with productivity because, with an increased minimum wage, you need increased productivity.”