[Jersey] Proposal to increase minimum wage to £10

[Jersey] Proposal to increase minimum wage to £10
29 Jun 2022

The minimum wage in Jersey will increase to £10 per hour this autumn and will eventually be brought into line with the living wage if a proposition from Deputy Sam Mézec is approved, Jersey Evening Post reports.

Following his return to the States by voters in the St Helier South district, the Reform Jersey leader has lodged proposals to enact a manifesto pledge to help some of the lowest earners on the Island.

Deputy Mézec’s proposition calls for the minimum wage - currently standing at £9.22 per hour - to rise to £10 per hour by October 1. The National Minimum Wage is £9.50 per hour.

In addition, the proposition asks for the Assembly to agree that Jersey’s minimum wage should align with the Living Wage, the plan calls for this to be in place by June 2023.

The Living Wage is currently calculated by the charity Caritas, it is reportedly uprated every year after examining the prevailing economic conditions and determining what a full-time worker would need to earn to sustain a basic standard of living without having to claim social security. It is currently set at £11.27 per hour.

In the proposition, Deputy Mézec said, “As well as lagging behind the Living Wage, Jersey’s minimum wage has also been behind the UK’s minimum wage (although it is perversely now called the ‘‘National Living Wage’’ there) for several years.

“This is despite the higher cost of living here.

“A worker on the minimum wage in Jersey is now substantially worse off than a worker on the minimum wage in most parts of the UK.

“It is, therefore, no surprise that the recent Jersey Household Income Distribution Survey has confirmed that a greater proportion of households in Jersey (27 per cent) are living in relative low income than in the UK (22 per cent).”

Deputy Mézec added, “The outgoing government had pledged to ‘reduce income inequality and improve the standard of living’ in its Common Strategic Policy but made little effort to achieve this.

“The new States Assembly has an opportunity to begin on a positive note and take meaningful action to improve life for those on the lowest wages.”

The proposition will reportedly be debated on September 13.


Source: Jersey Evening Post

(Quotes via original reporting)

The minimum wage in Jersey will increase to £10 per hour this autumn and will eventually be brought into line with the living wage if a proposition from Deputy Sam Mézec is approved, Jersey Evening Post reports.

Following his return to the States by voters in the St Helier South district, the Reform Jersey leader has lodged proposals to enact a manifesto pledge to help some of the lowest earners on the Island.

Deputy Mézec’s proposition calls for the minimum wage - currently standing at £9.22 per hour - to rise to £10 per hour by October 1. The National Minimum Wage is £9.50 per hour.

In addition, the proposition asks for the Assembly to agree that Jersey’s minimum wage should align with the Living Wage, the plan calls for this to be in place by June 2023.

The Living Wage is currently calculated by the charity Caritas, it is reportedly uprated every year after examining the prevailing economic conditions and determining what a full-time worker would need to earn to sustain a basic standard of living without having to claim social security. It is currently set at £11.27 per hour.

In the proposition, Deputy Mézec said, “As well as lagging behind the Living Wage, Jersey’s minimum wage has also been behind the UK’s minimum wage (although it is perversely now called the ‘‘National Living Wage’’ there) for several years.

“This is despite the higher cost of living here.

“A worker on the minimum wage in Jersey is now substantially worse off than a worker on the minimum wage in most parts of the UK.

“It is, therefore, no surprise that the recent Jersey Household Income Distribution Survey has confirmed that a greater proportion of households in Jersey (27 per cent) are living in relative low income than in the UK (22 per cent).”

Deputy Mézec added, “The outgoing government had pledged to ‘reduce income inequality and improve the standard of living’ in its Common Strategic Policy but made little effort to achieve this.

“The new States Assembly has an opportunity to begin on a positive note and take meaningful action to improve life for those on the lowest wages.”

The proposition will reportedly be debated on September 13.


Source: Jersey Evening Post

(Quotes via original reporting)

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