“The UPP’s false promise to raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour is nothing short of grandstanding because the overwhelming majority of public sector workers already earn more than $10 an hour”.

That is a statement from the Chairman of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party, Mr. E.P. ‘Chet’ Greene.

Speaking shortly after the UPP posted an online statement that that they “will raise the minimum wage for employees to $10 an hour”, Mr. Greene pointed out that, “since public service workers already earn more than $10 an hour, the UPP promise is just an effort to deceive the electorate”.

“The UPP is promising less than public servants enjoy”, Greene stressed.

The ABLP Chairman also emphasized that the ABLP government, just a few weeks ago, in consultation with the private sector representatives, agreed to increase the legal minimum wage for all workers to $9.00.

Greene explained that, “except for a small number of unskilled workers in the private sector, most of the private sector employees also already earn $10 an hour or more”.

“Therefore, even for the private sector employees, the promise to raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour, is just trickery and of no real benefit to the majority of workers”.

Mr. Greene said “The ABLP government recently decided to increase the legal minimum wage from $8.20 to $9.00, purely to benefit unskilled persons”.

He said, “The government did so, in consultation with the private sector, because if private persons did not agree, they would dismiss workers so as to stay within the sum of money they could afford and, they would pass on the difference to the consumers”.

The ABLP Chairman also noted that “the UPP did not even bother to consult the private sector on this empty promise.  It was a unilateral statement.

 

“In summary”, the ABLP Chairman said “the UPP’s announcement is trickery.  No one should be fooled”.