NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Hoteliers are hoping that the government will give their industry special consideration as it moves to increase the country’s minimum wage, with one executive noting that minimum wage employees in the sector already earn significant gratuities.
Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, raised the issue with Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis yesterday during a BHTA board and membership meeting.
Sands described the issue as a “pivotal concern” for the industry.
He said the industry is not indifferent to some type of minimum wage increase but hopes that the volume of gratuities some workers earn on top of minimum wage will be taken into consideration.
Sands said: “In most instances, people who are receiving minimum wage don’t get gratuity. They don’t get any form of additional income. The whole idea of increasing the minimum wage is to give them some type of income to live off.
“Our argument is that in our sector people who receive minimum wage also receive significant gratuities. The reality is that maybe we should not be hit with the same paintbrush in terms of the level of increase for those individuals as opposed to people who are not receiving gratuities. They make minimum wage but considerable tips by either working in casino and food and beverage. We want the government to take that into consideration.”
Halkits said the minimum wage issue is expected to be addressed before the end of the year and said that the BHTA’s minimum wage concerns would be taken into consideration. The country’s minimum wage is currently $210 a week.
The last minimum wage increase was in 2015, during the Christie administration, from $150 per week to $210 per week. Prior to that, there had been no change in the country’s minimum wage since January 2002.
A 2020 study by the University of The Bahamas’ Government and Public Policy Institute concluded that a living wage in New Providence and Grand Bahama would be $2,625 and $3,550 per month respectively.
