Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
PHILIPSBURG: --- Minimum wage earners will see an increase in their salaries comes January 1st, 2023. Minister of Labor Omar Ottley in an interview with SMN News said that an LB was done for a one-time cumulative for the years 2016 and 2017. 2018, 2019, and 2021. This he said brought the minimum wage to Naf. 9.62 per hour compared to Naf. 8.84. Besides the one-time cumulative increase, the Minister adjusted the minimum wage further by using the 3rd quarter Consumer Price Index (CPI) for 2022. This has brought the minimum wage to NAF 9.95 per hour or Naf 1,723.34 for a 40-hour work week.
Minister Ottley said that the SER has advised that the minimum wage should be indexed annually, and he has agreed to do so as long as he is the Minister of Labor. He said he intends to use the quarterly CPI for such indexation.
It should be noted that former Minister of Labor Pamela Gordon indexed the minimum wage in 2020 by adding one cent to the minimum wage for that year.
