Senior committees object to minimum wage increase

The Committee for Employment and Social Security is proposing a 13% increase to the adult minimum wage

Proposals to increase Guernsey's adult minimum wage to £12.00 from £10.65 have been published.

The plans, an increase of more than 12.5%, face opposition from the Economic Development (ED) and the Policy and Resources (P&R) committees.

An increase of 10% to the minimum wage for people aged under 18 has also been put forward by Employment and Social Security (ESS).

The proposals will be debated by deputies in September at the earliest and, if approved, are due to come into force on 1 October.

P&R suggested that "ESS considers the potential benefits to the economy of deferring matching the 60% target in full for another year".

Currently ESS is working to try and make the minimum wage for Guernsey 60% of the median earnings of employees in Guernsey after a decision in 2018.

ED has asked for a smaller increase to the minimum wage of 5.5% to "match inflation" as it is "unsupportive" of the current plans.

Following its consultation, ESS said most of the people who replied to it were in favour of the proposed increases to the minimum wage.

In its proposals, it added "a trade union welcomed the proposal to increase the adult minimum wage by 12.7% but noted concerns about Guernsey’s minimum wage rates falling behind other comparable jurisdictions in recent years".

The minimum wage in Jersey is currently £11.64, while in the Isle of Man it is £11.45.

Adult minimum wage increases

• 2018 - £7.75

• 2019 - £8.10

• 2020 - £8.50

• 2021- £8.70

• 2022 - £9.05

• 1 October 2022 - £9.55

• 2023 - £10.65