WILLEMSTAD - The minimum wage will increase from 1 January by 10.08 guilders to 10.70 guilders per hour. Minister of Social Development, Labor and Welfare Ruthmilda Larmonie-Cecilia announced this in a press conference on Thursday.
Larmonie-Cecilia says that the increase was badly needed, because of the inflation of almost six percent. With the new minimum, the monthly wage for a 40-hour working week will be 1853.24 guilders, which is 172 guilders more than now. The minister indicates that the wage increase is still not sufficient to reach the subsistence level in Curaçao. Almost sixty percent of the workers on the island receive the minimum wage.
Larmonie-Cecilia says that in the coming years it will be examined with stakeholders whether the minimum wage can increase further.