$5 Minimum Wage Signed into Law, Takes Effect on January 1st

Dyon Elliott

The five dollar minimum wage is now part of Belize’s Wages Regulation. Today, the Government of Belize signed into law Statutory Instrument number one hundred and seventy of 2022 which states that the minimum wage for all categories of workers has increased to five dollars an hour, effective January first, 2023. A release from the Government of Belize says that the new increase in the minimum wage is part of its overall strategy to combat poverty and reduce inequality, as outlined in Plan Belize. The release goes on to say that as a part of this wage adjustment exercise, the Ministry of Labour is currently reviewing a wage-setting methodology that will be used periodically to determine future minimum wage increases. Notwithstanding the wage increase, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry has placed on record its objection to the immediate implementation of the increase from three dollars and thirty cents. B.C.C.I. argues that the move will add two hundred million dollars to the private sector’s wage bill overnight. B.C.C.I. held a media sensitization event on December sixteenth where Dyon Elliot, the Chief Policy Analyst at B.C.C.I., had this to say.

Dyon Elliott, Chief Policy Analyst, B.C.C.I.

“Using general data from SIB and these needs to be drilled down further and this is the data that should be coming from the Ministry of Labor, from whatever government agency is responsible for this. But, from our estimates we are seeing close to two hundred million dollars being added in payroll cost overnight, if that happens like that. That is a concern because a lot of businesses are still, we talk about Belize is growing, in economic circles we are talking about nascent recovery. We are talking about just coming out of a 2020, almost fourteen to sixteen percent recession. We are getting back on our feet. A lot of companies are still struggling even getting back to normal. So that is still happening and I use the analogy on a TV show today, just imagine it is raining and the ground is now flooded and saturated and on top of that comes more rain, you see how the ground is flooded. So, you are already competing with record inflation. Belize has not had this level of inflation for the last thirteen years, and you know why, fuel prices, inflation, and prices are high. Food prices have been fluctuating significantly. You have the backlog with shipping that have been increasing shipping cost, fertilizer cost gone up, and in this already struggling environment, among other variables I haven’t mentioned, you have a fifty two percent increase from three dollars and thirty cent to five dollars overnight. WE are saying that could lead to some adverse effects on the employees that you are trying to say we need to consider. We have talked to some of our members who said, I can’t afford if this happens and I might have to send some people home, don’t want to but if that is what is happening we might have to consider that.”