The National Federation Party will implement their $5 minimum living wage policy in the first 100 days if they form government however they are not clear on a package that will come with the implementation and they also say that this minimum wage may not include cane cutters.
NFP Leader Professor Biman Prasad highlighted on Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan last night that the package will be determined after consultations.
NFP’s broad policy document for the 2018 general elections states that the current national minimum wage of $2.68 an hour will be replaced by a phased in living wage of $5 an hour not as a stand-alone measure but as a group of policies directly and indirectly working in tandem to achieve it. However it says this will be done after extensive consultations.
Prasad has not revealed how those unable to pay the $5 minimum living wage will be assisted but he says none of the employers will be able to remove people from work due to the increase in the wage rate as NFP will bring in a law that will stop people from doing this.
Prasad is unclear on whether sugar cane cutters will be included in this minimum living wage.
However he reveals that once the farmers get 100 dollars a tonne for cane, Prasad says he knows the cane farmers will pay more to the cane cutters.
He refused to reveal how this will be implemented but says there will be consultations with the farmers.
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