In the Government press conference of Monday, October 21st, 2024, the Honourable Minister of Labour Mr. Kenneth Hodge issued a warning to employers who refuse to pay their workers the minimum wage of US$6.00 per hour. This means that employers who pay wages any amount less than the minimum of US$6.00 commits an offense, according to the Labour Relations Act of 2018.
According to the Minister, he has received complaints from working individuals who said that they are indeed paid wages that are under US$6.00. “In fact, there is one worker who has complained [he was] (to be) paid only US$2.00 per hour,” the Minister said.
“These are very serious issues,” the Minister said. “I can assure the workers of Anguilla that the Labour Department will investigate these matters, and we are going to start bringing some people before the court.” He warned that convicted employers can end up paying a fine of up to EC$10,000, according to the Labour Relations Act of 2018.
Further, the Minister also stated that some of these employers do not pay any dues into the social security system on behalf of the workers, so in the event that an employee makes a claim at Social Security no benefits would be there.
“There are very stiff penalties for non-adherence to the requirements of the minimum wage legislation,” he said. “So I want to advise employers who are taking advantage of their workers, to please get it right.”
Minister Hodge acknowledged that the US$6.00 minimum wage, which was instituted on January 1st 2024, is not a living wage. “However, it is a start,” he said, “and it was primarily designed to protect the vulnerable persons among us.”
