Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s Response To Senator David Massiah on the minimum wage

Sen Massiah,

We all know that you are singing for your supper to retain your appointed position in the Senate so that you could earn a full pension.

Your assertion that workers do not have the right of association is a figment of your warped imagination.

How does an increase in the minimum wage becomes an election gimmick ?

You are fully aware that there is a minimum wage committee that invariably consults broadly to determine the amount of the increase, yet you have deliberately sought to mislead workers into thinking that there would be no consultation.

It is obvious that you and the union that you lead, have become irrelevant in promoting and satisfying the empowerment of workers.

As a consequence of the compromised representation of certain senior members of the union, who routinely enjoy gifts of free meals and sometimes cash from hoteliers; hotel workers have not gotten the type of strident and effective representation that they deserve.

Sen Massiah, the hospitality sector contributes 55 percent of GDP, but real wages in that sector have not risen correspondingly in that sector for decades. It is a shame that hospitality workers in 2025 are being paid a pittance above minimum wage.

The narrowing of the gap between minimum wage and the pay of hospitality workers is due primarily to the poor representation by you and the ABWU that represent 95 percent of hospitality workers.

It is evident that you abhor any further increase in the minimum wage, because that will force the ABWU to negotiate better salaries and wages for hospitality workers.

Many hospitality workers are struggling to earn one third of our country’s per capital income of $60,000.

Years ago, hotel workers earned enough to service a home mortgage. Today, as a result of the stagnation in real wages, which has not kept pace with inflation, the majority of hospitality workers cannot afford a home mortgage for a basic low income home.

The union also allowed hoteliers during the period of COVID to sever their higher paid employees and replaced them with lower paid employees.

At one point, the minimum wage in the hotel sector as reduced to $9.00 per hour, mere cents above the minimum wage. One hotel, even recruited a former UPP Minister to shaft workers. Not a word was heard from the ABWU. It took myself, and broader civil society, to include Mr Anderson Carty to bring the madness to an end.

Hoteliers have been allowed to employ workers using shell companies, segregating the pty from any potential claim by workers in the event of liquidation. Even tips have been taken from employees and some have been fired for accepting tips. Again, the ABWU has not advocated for any changes. It is Gaston Browne that is championing the cause to pilot legislation to bring these injustices to an end.

As a result of the abuse of workers in the sector, our nationals are no longer interested in working in the hospitality sector, resulting in an increase in immigrant workers.

All this happened under the uncaring and hopeless representation of the ABWU.

To add insult to injury, I found the recent negotiations and agreement by the ABWU on behalf of hospitality workers, to accept an increase of $5.00 percent week)which cannot even buy a bottle of beer) reprehensible.

This is tangible evidence that the ABWU leadership does not care about the workers they represent. Their interests lie exclusively in the status of senatorial appointments and gifts of free meals and others.

I believe that hospitality workers deserve better. They should share equitably in the gains of the sector.

In the absence of effective representation by the ABWU, I am prepared, in the tradition of Sir Walter Citrine to assist hospitality workers in organizing themselves to form their own trade union.

By registering their own hospitality trade union which will be lead exclusive by hospitality workers, they would better, more effective and focused representation.

Hospitality workers contribute over $2M annually to ABWU in the form of dues. These fees could be better invested in their own union for their own empowerment. The ABWU have also wasted these dues subsiding their loss making cafe up to $500,000 in a single calendar year.

Accordingly, I recommend that hospitality workers create their own bespoke representative union, to be les exclusively by its members, and not by politicians and their activists.

This Hospitality Workers Union should be complemented with a Hospitality Workers Credit Union, Hospitality Construction and Housing Company and a Hospitality Workers supermarket.

By establishing this comprehensive development infrastructure for hospitality workers, will help to accelerate home ownership, savings and investment and lower food prices.

In addition, this would eliminate the unnecessary wastage of their dues, ensuring that the funds are utilized exclusively for the development of hospitality workers, compared to wasting up to $500K annually on a lost making cafe.

I urge hospitality workers to organized themselves as recommended above and I am prepared to assist with the seed funding, to cover the initial set-up costs to include any required consultancy.

I have also gotten an agreement in principle from the Cabinet to sell Crown land to this proposed Hospitality Workers Union at a concessional rate and to extend duty free concessions on the importation of building material, fixtures and fittings to construct homes for its members.

As our nation continues to advance, my administration is determined that all employees should share equitably in its gains.

Blessings

Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Antigua!
We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages.
Contact us at [email protected]