In its 2020-2025 manifesto, the PUP pledged to the people of Belize that if the party won the general elections, it would increase the minimum wage, from BZ$3.30 per hour since 2012, to BZ$5.00 per hour. How much research the PUP did to arrive at $5/hr. as the minimum wage for Belize isn’t known, but CSSPAR, the think tank spearheaded by Ambassador David Gibson, has noted that back in 2003 the NTUCB had carried out a study which led the organization to propose $4.50 to $6.80 per hour as the minimum living wage, which is the amount one would have to earn to cover their basic needs.
In normal times Belize’s inflation rate is about 1% per year, but that has increased dramatically, catastrophically, these past two years, since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world in 2020, and Russia sent its forces into Ukraine in February this year. Some experts estimate an increase of 20 to 30 percent in the cost of building a house since the pandemic began.
Things were bad in our economy when the PUP came to power in 2020. Instead of signing the minimum wage increase into law then, the PUP went in the opposite direction and forced a 10% wage cut on its employees, something that had never been done before, and maintained the increment freeze that the previous government (UDP) had, under duress, implemented when the pandemic began. The PUP said when it came into office that our country was borrowing one million dollars each day, and the only alternative to the wage cut was the more dreaded retrenchment.
It has taken the government two full years to feel we are in a good enough place for it to deliver on its manifesto promise. But the BCCI (Belize Chamber of Commerce & Industry) would describe the projected minimum wage increase in January next year as “force ripe.” The BCCI says it supports a wage increase, that it understands that the present minimum wage isn’t a living wage, but it doesn’t think our economy can handle a full $5/hr. minimum wage for all workers. The BCCI has cited the slow recovery of businesses from the worst of the pandemic, and the ongoing war, as reasons why some of its members are not in a position to handle the minimum wage increase at this time.
Since the government announced earlier this year that it was setting up a task force to guide the process, the BCCI has said that the minimum wage increase should be ushered in, like the 2012 increase was, in phases. The BCCI is saying that if $5 becomes the minimum wage in January, many businesses might have to lay off workers, or increase the cost of the goods and services they provide to recoup the additional funds they will have to pay out. The group has also cautioned about a domino effect: workers who are presently earning $5/hr. wanting/expecting more pay from their employers.
Not all employers own businesses. Homeowners who hire domestic helpers and people to clean their yards will have to pay more. Of all the entities that will have to pay a little more to their workers come January, business folk really have the least to complain about. That’s because they will be in the front of the line to benefit from the increased earnings of the lowest-paid Belizeans. In the immediate, the increase will hurt a few businesses, but it won’t take long for this minimum wage increase to yield benefits for those in the business sector.
The more money in circulation, the wealthier people become, if they spend it right. Speaking on the advantages of money over barter trade, the global edtech company, BYJU’S Learning, which can be found at the website byjus.com, says “money evaluates every commodity and service with a convincing value; a person who doesn’t want anything in exchange will also be ready to work for someone for money; money is a durable thing and lasts many years, even if kept unused”, and “money makes the economy grow faster.”
The GoB isn’t about creating new money, but if it increases the minimum wage, more of it will be in the hands of poorer people, and that group just happens to be the ones who spend. This minimum wage increase is about getting people closer to a living wage, and it is also about stimulating the economy. The same money that businesses dole out to workers for the increase will come back to them, along with the earnings of other workers, when they turn up at their shops to purchase their goods and services. This spending will cause the economy to grow; thus, more money will flow into their cash registers.
But it is important, even critical, for us to spend our money on the right things. Our people must use this little increase with the aim to multiply it. We must spend our money in-country. We must show a preference for Belizean products. Spending on the tools of production increases wealth; when spending on luxury goods, we must not go overboard.
Hopefully our business folk will follow the lead of government, and stay far away from retrenchment. There will be changes in January. Workers who are earning the bare minimum have to feel especially good about the extra money they’ll be receiving for their labors. And business folk can look forward to their cash registers ringing more as the increased earnings of workers help to grow the economy.
Not all Belizeans are Christians, but this weekend it will be hard to find anyone who isn’t caught up in the celebration of the birth of the baby Jesus, the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ, in a manger in a little town called Bethlehem around 2,000 years ago. While there are those who say He was “just” a prophet, no one questions His message of hope, the lessons He gave about love, and the beauty of the life He lived.
He is worthy of celebration, and in Belize we know how to do it. We do it with “blackberry” wine, and cashew wine, and rum popo. We do it with ham and turkey and trimmings. Our government joins the Salvation Army to make sure all our children get some special gift, and that those of us on down times have all the food we can eat.
Some complain that the season has become too commercialized, but much of the spending is on beautifying homes, and on clothing, footwear, lotions, kitchen utensils, tools, home appliances—things that have value throughout the year.
We eat, we drink a little, and we play di music, the songs of Christmas that are enjoyed all over the world; the songs of Cleveland Berry, Wilfred Peters, Tony Wright, Coolie Rebels, Super Furia, Martha Weatherburn, Heights of Vibes, and other local heroes; and the songs of our ancestors who came home for a short break, came home to bram with family and friends after spending months in the forests cutting down mahogany and bleeding sapodilla.
A merry and safe Krismos to all!