Minister of Labour Colin Jordan defended the government’s decision to raise the national and sectoral minimum wages by two per cent from January, describing the adjustment as a fair balance between protecting low-income workers and safeguarding employers’ ability to stay profitable.
At a press conference at Illaro Court on Thursday, he stressed that the modest increase was intended to ease pressure on the lowest-paid workers without destabilising businesses.
Jordan said the measure reflects the government’s commitment to gradual, predictable increases to support those at the bottom of the pay scale.
“In May, we indicated in 2021, and I will reiterate here that Barbadians have to be, particularly those at the bottom of the earnings scale, able to eat. They have to be able to survive,” he said, adding that the annual adjustments would continue because “Barbadians must be able to afford at least the basics.”
He reminded the public that the announcement of the two per cent increase was made on Wednesday, confirming that Cabinet had always intended to introduce annual indexation once the measure was established in the 2025 Budget. The increase will raise the current national minimum wage from $10.50 per hour to $10.71 – an additional 21 cents – while the sectoral minimum wage for security guards will rise from $11.43 to $11.66 per hour, a 23‑cent increase.
Jordan pointed out there was no official minimum wage until it was introduced by the Mottley administration in April 2021. Prior to this, there were only wage orders for shop assistants under the Shops Act and domestic workers, which tended to set a floor for wages across a variety of jobs.
Six months ago, the national minimum wage moved from $8.50 to $10.50 per hour, and the security guard rate increased from $9.25 to $11.43. Jordan said that as part of the 2025 Budget, the Ministry of Finance signalled clearly that indexation would take effect from January 2026 at a two per cent rate. He insisted the public and business community had been given ample warning.
Jordan said: “This two per cent increase has been… explicitly stated since March of 2025. We have had up to this point maybe about eight or nine months of notice that there would be a two per cent increase in January 2026.”
He addressed reports of some business operators feeling caught off guard by the announcement. Jordan maintained that the signal was early and unambiguous.
“I want to encourage employers, I want to encourage businesses to, while focusing on your core business activity, keep a focus, keep an eye on the matters that relate to those who work for you and build your wealth,” he said. He added that labour considerations must remain central to operations to avoid missing critical policy changes.
Jordan confirmed that work had begun through the Minimum Wage Board to examine the impact of the June 2025 increase and to develop a more scientific indexation model.
“Some work started to be done with respect to impact on various aspects of the economic system,” he said, noting that international models had been reviewed but no Barbados-specific model had yet been finalised. Cabinet would ultimately make decisions based on the board’s recommendations, he added.
He said the two per cent increase was designed to protect both workers and employers. “When we announced the two per cent, it was with the understanding that workers have to be able to maintain their existence. And we also had to ensure that employing organisations were not put in a position where they could no longer employ persons. And so a reasonable indexation of two per cent is what was arrived at.”
He continued: “The numbers that we use represent the striking of a balance because there are some aspects of the work that were done that suggest that the number probably could have been a bit higher in terms of the increase.
“We encourage all employers to ensure that they comply once the final order is made. We’ve already issued the notice of intention to make the order. The rates are there. And at the end of the period, as prescribed in the legislation, then we will proceed to issue the order. Once we’ve gone through the entire process the new rates will come into effect.”
On concerns about inflation and cost of living, Jordan said wage adjustments remain modest compared with international inflation. “A lot of our inflation is imported inflation. We believe that two per cent is a fair and reasonable increase in the circumstances.” He added that workers’ survival remained a core consideration.
“Twenty-one cents per hour for an individual worker is sometimes the difference between being able to continue to buy a piece of fish to go with your rice or a piece of chicken to go with your rice.”
(SZB)
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