Living Wage announcement coming in January for TCI says Premier

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, November 24, 2022 – The Turks and Caicos Islands government will  implement a living wage for residents  by early next year  according to Premier Washington Misick.

“We are making significant strides for the implementation of a living wage by the first of April 2023 to address these issues.”

Misick was speaking at a recent public meeting in Providenciales; prompted by questions from residents about the extremely high cost of food, gas and other essentials in the country. Back in July the Premier had said consultants working on the country’s Living Wage Study were almost ready to give a preliminary report.

Some residents were concerned that come April the government would only have the report ready not actual implementation plans but the Premier allayed those fears.

“It will be fully ready,” he said. “In fact we will have to announce it not later than January because we’ll have to give people an opportunity to prepare for it and that includes the government— so it will be launched not later than the first of April.”

The living wage comes after months of residents have been asking for an increase in the minimum wage which the government was hesitant to execute, maintaining that the living wage would be of greater benefit to residents in the long run.

MIT defines a living wage as an income which draws on local cost elements including transportation, childcare and other essentials including taxes to determine the minimum employment earnings necessary to meet a family’s basic needs.

The research is specific to the area that it is focused on and should provide the poorest Turks Islanders with enough cash for a comfortable life.

In July, Premier Misick had promised that he would not leave the people out of the loop and said there would have to be public consultations before the study was concluded.

If those consultations are to happen, and if the premier’s timeline for a January 2023 announcement holds, those consultations or the result of consultations would need to be made public within the coming weeks.