DAREECE POLO
Senior Reporter
dareece.polo@gurardian.co.tt
One chamber is urging the Ministry of Labour to get serious with companies that have failed to pay workers the minimum wage.
The recommendation comes from the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA), following reports that 36 complaints were lodged at the ministry for non-compliance in the first 12 days of the year.
From January 1, the minimum wage rose from $17.50 to $20.50. Although business owners risk being fined $15,000 for underpayment, several have allegedly failed to uphold the law, according to complaints from employees in the retail sector, restaurant and fast foods sector, the service sector, private security, tyre shops, and domestic industry. The ministry has also received complaints that some employees were reportedly terminated after requesting an increase to reflect the change.
While several chambers say they have had no reports of this breach of law, DOMA yesterday said Government should act against rogue employers.
“I would like to suggest that the ministry needs to take a very tough stand in the early part of this implementation phase, so that anyone who is thinking about not obeying the new minimum wages order would be discouraged from doing so by the ministry’s very immediate action to counteract anybody who is disobeying the order,” DOMA president Gregory Aboud said.
He also noted that the ministry could take the initiative and reach out to employees, although he believes many businesses had no issue with paying the minimum wage.
“They’re free to go into the field and do their own onsite interviews and so on. But I’m sure that persons who are not receiving the minimum wage according to the new order will be very motivated to make that information known to the ministry,” he said.
The Greater San Fernando Area Chamber of Commerce (GSFCC) said it has not received any reports of non-compliance among its membership. However, president Kiran Singh suggested it may be an oversight if some employees had not yet received the increase.
“We advise employees to remind the management if they feel that they are being unduly treated that there’s always recourse through the human resource managers, the human resource department, your CEO, your managers, supervisors that may be in the rush as the year started, as we approach Carnival, you know everybody’s hyped about the feteing and the parties and so on, that they should be reminded of their corporate responsibility,” Singh said.
He also urged those earning minimum wage to work harder to reflect the hike in their salary.
“They should also be minded in that regard that as the minimum wage has increased, their responsibility to their companies and their co-workers and the management of the business that they work, in that their productivity has to match the level of incremental increases that they have received,” he added.
The American Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AMCHAM) and Employers’ Consultative Association (ECA) have both said they had no reports of employers breaking the law by not paying the minimum wage. Nonetheless, AMCHAM and the ECA said they have advised their members to obey the regulations. While most of AMCHAM’s membership includes business owners with employees who earn much more than the minimum wage, the association has a no-nonsense approach to any breach.
“We would expect, however, that none of our members would be engaged in underpaying any worker and every year with their renewal of membership, our members are reminded and asked to sign the code of conduct which includes compliance with all laws of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. So, if a member is engaged in such activity, that would be a serious cause for concern and something that we have to review,” said AMCHAMTT CEO Nirad Tewarie.
Asked about the potential consequences if an AMCHAMTT member is found guilty of not paying employees their just dues, Tewarie said expulsion is possible.
Employees of supermarkets, retail stores, bars, restaurants, hotels, domestic workers, security officers, gas station attendants or workers at any similar establishment are entitled to a minimum of $20.50 per hour. They are also entitled to overtime and are urged to contact the Labour Inspectorate Unit at 299-0300 in Port-of-Spain, 285-5133 in San Fernando or email labour.inspector@gov.tt to report any concerns.