Great Bay:---- Minister of Public Health Social Development & Labor, Raphael Boasman announced that the minimum wage will be indexed from Naf 8,75 per hour to Naf 8,83 per hour as of January 1, 2016.
The consumer price index of August 2015 rose by 0.9%. Minister Boasman stated that with this indexation the minimum wage is kept in sync with the cost of living increases. “I will be asking the Minister of Tourism, Economy, Traffic & Telecommunications to be vigilant and to ensure that prices do not increase to capture this minimum wage adjustment.”
The legal basis for the Minister of Public Health Social Development & Labor to index the minimum wage can be found in article 13, paragraph 1 of the National Ordinance Minimum Wages. The Bureau of Statistics specified that the price indices for household consumption shows that the figure for the month of the preceding year changed, thus a new minimum hourly wage.
“By adjusting the minimum wage it guarantee’s the purchasing power of the population,” said Minister Boasman.
It is important that all employers take note of the indexation and have it properly adjusted on the pay slips of their employees in that wage category.