Minister plans 90p minimum wage rise

Sunday 05 September 2021

The Minister for Social Security has put forward a plan to increase the minimum wage by 90p to £9.22.

The current minimum wage is £8.32 per hour, which was set in April 2020.

Normally, the independent Employment Forum advises government on how it thinks the minimum wage should change.

However, due to the pandemic, it has been unable to carry out its usual consultation exercise.

Despite this, Deputy Judy Martin wants to press ahead with a minimum wage rise, setting it at £9.22 an hour from 1 January 2022. 

Pictured: Social Security Minister, Deputy Judy Martin.

“The pandemic has particularly affected those on the lowest wages. That’s why I’m proposing a significant increase in the rate to make sure those employees on the minimum wage get a reasonable pay rise,” the Social Security Minister explained.

However, critics have pointed out that the total falls far short of the island’s ‘Living Wage’, which sits at nearly £11 per hour, taking into account the cost of living locally, taxes and the value of benefits available to low-earning islanders.

Analysis by Statistics Jersey revealed last week that wages in Jersey had effectively been frozen for the past 20 years, and that half of workers in Jersey are earning less than the median rate of £630 per week. 

CLICK TO ENLARGE: Islanders' earnings have remained "essentially flat" in real terms due to rises in the cost of living.

The minimum wage proposals are due to face a States Assembly vote on 2 November.