Economy – Mark J. Golding, MP

The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has renewed its call for a $12,000 per week National Minimum Wage in light of the current economic challenges mainly brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In noting that the cost of food keeps rising, PNP President, Mark Golding, at a party press conference, said the minimum wage increase would help struggling families.

“I also repeat my call for the minimum wage to be substantially increased to become a livable wage; at least $12,000 a week so that families with breadwinners only earning the minimum wage have a chance to make it in life,” urged Golding.

The current National Minimum Wage of $7,000 per week, was set in 2018.

To make his case for the much-needed increase to the minimum wage, Golding said after the economy shrunk by over 10 per cent in 2020, “the Government is now projecting recovery of only three to six per cent this year.

“So it is clear that the nation will remain poorer than before the pandemic for some time to come,” he opined.

Turning to the Government’s response to the spike in the cost of living, the Opposition leader said it is “inadequate”.

“There has been mention of a $10,000 grant, but it is unclear how it is to be accessed and who is (to be) eligible for it.

“MPs (Members of Parliament) are to be given funds for care packages, but that will only stretch to a small fraction of the people in need in their constituencies,” declared Golding.

“Everybody who goes to a shop knows that food prices have risen far more than the official inflation statistics. Even patty gone up,” he added.

Meanwhile, Opposition Spokesman on Finance and Planning, Julian Robinson, has forecasted that 2022 will be a challenging year for the economy, especially due to the rise in COVID-19 cases locally, which is suspected to be caused by the highly transmissible omicron variant.

“We already have seen significant increases in the cost of food, electricity and gas, and these increases will continue into the New Year and throughout the year,” he shared.

Arguing that the “overburdened public” has not recovered from the effects of COVID-19, Robinson said “We have to ensure, and the Government has to ensure, that there are steps put in place to cushion these blows for the most vulnerable.”

To accomplish this objective, Robinson said the Government has to ensure that “taxpayers’ money are judiciously spent”.

https://jamaica.loopnews.com/content/pnp-calls-12000-national-minimum-wage-amid-economic-hardships

The People’s National Party (PNP) has committed to doing away with the requirement for two guarantors for tertiary level students seeking loans from the Students’ Loan Bureau (SLB) to pursue higher education.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding gave the commitment on Tuesday as he made his contribution to the 2021/2022 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives. He went one further than Finance and Public Service Minister Dr Nigel Clarke who, during his opening presentation in the Budget Debate on March 9, stated that the Government was reducing the number of guarantors needed for SLB loans from two to one.

“The next PNP government will reconfigure the loan structure used by the SLB so as to cap monthly payments at a reasonable percentage of their actual income, to ensure that it is manageable for young graduates.

“We will ensure that borrowing a student loan to invest in their education is something that students no longer fear,” said Golding

He continued: “The Minister of Finance announced last week that only one guarantor will be required by the SLB, going forward. That is a welcome step in the right direction, but it does not go far enough. When the Public Accounts Committee recently looked at the SLB, we found that the amounts recovered from guarantors are quite small in the scheme of things, which suggests that the retention of this requirement is not necessary for the sustainability of the institution. We know that many potential student loan applicants from low-income homes cannot find an acceptable guarantor. The requirement of finding a guarantor works against children from low-income households. The next PNP government will abolish altogether the requirement of finding a guarantor to access student loans”.

Golding argued that this will go some way in transforming the financing of tertiary education in Jamaica, in particular for young people whose parents just don’t have it.

“The State, and not the student, must bear the risk of employment creation,” he stated.