The minimum wage in the Virgin Islands will increase from $6 to $7.25 per hour starting in July, Premier Dr. Natalio Wheatley announced on Tuesday evening.
He said the change will be implemented in phases, with a further increase planned “sometime in the future.”
“Well, as persons would know, we had announced an $8.50 minimum wage some months ago,” Dr. Wheatley said during a live broadcast of Virgin Islands Voice. “When I became the minister of the subject, I wanted to review it. And given everything that was happening in the world, and in discussion with businesses, and in discussion with our public stakeholders, we decided to take a phased approach, so we wouldn’t go directly to that $8.50.”
He explained that the full $8.50 rate would not be implemented immediately due to concerns about inflation and the broader cost of living.
“Before we increase more, we have to make sure we have the ‘basket of goods’ in place. We have to make sure that we have certain measures in place as it pertains to consumer protection so that we don’t have the prices go up too much,” he said.
To support the transition, Dr. Wheatley said efforts are underway to improve the efficiency of major import operations.
“We’ve been talking about getting cheaper goods from different supply markets. I believe when we do some of those things, we’ll be in a better position to increase the minimum wage to the full $8.50,” he stated.
He cautioned, however, that any wage increase could trigger ripple effects throughout the economy.
“You raise the minimum wage for a group, but everybody’s prices will go up. So it’s something that we have to be careful about, and we have to be conscious of,” he said, describing it as a “domino effect.”
Despite this, the Premier acknowledged that the current rate is no longer acceptable.
“We know that $6 is inadequate. So we’ll go ahead and raise that up in the first instance, and then we’ll prepare for further increases. We’ll have periodic reviews,” he said.
The phased increase comes after an earlier Cabinet decision to implement an $8.50 hourly rate by December 2024. That plan was placed under review following public feedback and concerns about economic pressure.
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