The Minister of Labour is to reconvene the Minimum Wages Board for a comprehensive review of the minimum wage, he announced Wednesday, days after unions called for a review while another union leader queried whether there was any pay floor at all.But the minister was already anticipating that the review would likely lead to raising the benchmark from $8.50 an hour, taking into account improvements in the country’s economic fortunes.“A minimum wage is exactly what it says,” he told Barbados TODAY. “A minimum wage. You can take care of three or four children, and do a little extra lessons for one in class four.“You can’t do that with an $8.50 [per hour] pay if you have bills and utilities to pay.”Jordan said the minimum wage, while serving as a crucial benchmark, is not a static entity. He noted that periodic reassessment was essential to ensure it remained aligned with economic realities and continued to fulfil its intended purpose.He said: “It is what it says a minimum and from time to time, minimums have to be looked at. We’ll be looking to reactivate the Minimum Wage Board shortly; I can’t give an exact time on that but I can tell you shortly, and they will take into consideration the same things we took into consideration in setting it in the first place.
