Stick to the facts with debate
Donald Singh, Lautoka
I am not advocating for anyone or any party here. The National Minimum Wage (NMW) debate has constantly been blown out of proportion by political opportunists and unions (now also political opportunists).
The $2.68 per hour must not be mistakened or confused. I am not an economist, and neither am I dumb, and I get it. Wage sectors have already got their minimum wage rates and I will not list them here lest I also start re-telling news like some regulars do on these pages. The NMW rate of $2.68 per hour is already very decent. How on earth would it be financially viable for my pineapple farmer friend to start paying his labourers $2.68 per hour for 8 hours a day?
That would be $21.45 a day. He actually pays his men $15/day, and the men never work for more than 6 hours a day, sometimes they work for 3 hours a day, on some days when it rains unexpectedly, they work 1 hour, but still get paid their $15. If my farmer friend were to pay $4 or $5 or the hilarious $10, he would have to sell the farm in no time and I would have to think a hundred times before trying to buy it.
Fellow citizens, please get the picture. The $2.68 that we currently have, if strictly implemented and followed, will cause panic and chaos.
Babysitters, housegirls or maids, gardeners and farm labourers among a few others are currently getting around $12 to $15 per day on average and they are pretty satisfied with the pay, which comes with meals on most occasions. My farmer friend has cousins who are farmers as well and who keep telling him to pay $12 and provide food. He isn't listening, not yet.
I have absolutely no interest in listening to political jargon, gimmicks and I have not bothered trying to know the who's who of what party.
I do, however, have interest in sensible debate, and most talks out there are as nonsensical as they can get.
When a party talks about increasing the NMW rate, they seem to be deliberately misleading the voter public, some of whom are still very much gullible. I would rather keep the MNW at $2.68 and increase the minimum wage rates in each wage sector instead. For example, the minimum wage in the construction sector is a little over $3 per hour. I would rather attempt to increase that, but with proper appraisal and wide consultation. Imagine a gardener getting $5 an hour. Instead of finishing his job at a fixed agreed rate (of $15) in about 3 hours (on 'task' basis), he will slug along for 8 hours and claim $40 for the same work that can only be quantitatively argued and justified as being for 3 hours.
Putting aside the $5 per hour, the gardener works earnestly for 3 hours, gets his honest wage, goes home by 11am, eats, rests and then embarks on his next job in the afternoon on another site, for more money.
Bringing in the $5 per hour, he slugs along, gets his dishonest wage, hits his employer badly in the pocket and drastically lowers his own productivity.
Politicians, please, keep it honest. If you go around campaigning, please let people see the lustre in you, see the intelligence, see your honesty. Campaign on facts please.
If something is broken now or is breaking, or may potentially break soon, then tell us your plan.
Nobody will steal your plans if you tell them now (if you lose the elections). Even if the winning party does steal your plan (campaign manifesto), then you must be proud to have effected a change. Hilarious campaign speeches do not entice me. As for the NMW, parties, please keep it clear and honest. Don't hoodwink the people into believing something that's not workable in our economy.
If you tell me that your party will ensure that I will get uninterrupted Sky TV, I will lend an ear.