KINGSTON, Jamaica — The People’s National Party Youth Organisation (PNPYO) while welcoming the recent increase in the national minimum wage says it is “unconscionable” to think that this is sufficient to meet basic needs.

The national minimum wage was increased from $6,200 to $7,000 per 40-hour work-week for the lowest paid workers.

The minimum rate paid to security guards has also been increased to $9,700, up from $8,854 per week and reflecting a 9.6 per cent increase.

The youth organisation, in a release today, said it has been over two years since the lowest paid workers have seen an increase in wages.

“Over the period they have been financially crippled and unable to function in an economy that has seen a severe decline in the value of the dollar, ballooning gas prices and ever rising costs for food,” the release stated.

“While this recent increase will add an average of $823 each week to purses of minimum wage earners and security guards, it is unconscionable to think that this is sufficient for them to meet their basic needs.

“To provide a sense of security for the most challenged in our economy, the PNPYO appeals to this and successive governments to adopt a more progressive outlook in the design of our national labour policies,” the PNPYO argued.

The group said it supports the position of Opposition Spokesman on Labour and Social Security, Horace Dalley that an increase in minimum wage should be mandatory each year and above the rate of inflation.

This, it said should be legislated so that no Government can absolve itself of that obligation.

Secondly, the group said there should be a percentage below which an increase should not fall.

“Over the last seven or so years, the increase per year has been, on average $400. While we understand that it is a minimum wage and employers can go above it, if we set the bar too low, then even if a benevolent employer goes above the bare minimum, one may still find that the wage is still insufficient to satisfy the basic economic needs of the worker. “

It also suggested that either in conjunction with the minimum wage, or in lieu thereof, there should be consideration for what is known as a living wage — the minimum income needed for a citizen to meet their basic needs.

“This call comes at a time when even members of our Police Federation are insisting on a similar standard to ensure that their rank and file members are able to survive. Undoubtedly, the establishment of a living wage benefits the society at large,” the PNPYO stated.