Four years ago, the minimum wage was increased to $3.00 per hour from $2.30. Of those last four years, the current government has been in power for the last three.

It is a wonder it took the government this long to do something about the minimum wage. There is no champagne yet, there is still no announcement on the new minimum wage rate. The Ministry of Commerce Industry and Labour (M.C.I.L.) has forwarded a policy document to the Cabinet.

The document entails a policy that states that the minimum wage rate should be reviewed every two years, yet in the last four years that has not happened. While the policy document has been submitted, there has been no word to say when the minimum wage will increase.

It was also announced that the policy will ensure that the increment in minimum wage does not have a massive impact on businesses.

This translates to: “Dear people of Samoa, especially those surviving on minimum wage at a time when the cost of living keeps rising, we have submitted a paper to the Cabinet that will decide if that should be the policy to work by if we are to increase wages. Please note that we have not yet endorsed the policy, so the real work on calculating what the new minimum wage should be has not started.

“It may be another year or perhaps somewhere closer to the election when we will increase the minimum wage by perhaps 20 sene. Kind regards, the Government.”

That is what it means and no amount of sugar-coating would change this. What about increasing the minimum wage rate first since it has not happened in the last four years and then endorsing the policy and ensuring that the next increment happens two years after the increase?

In the last four years since the minimum wage was last increased, the global inflation rate has doubled and will not go back to the pre-2022 rate even if there is a forecast for inflation to drop. People are earning the same but their purchasing power has become smaller. The amount of food they can buy has reduced.

It was good news for civil servants in June last year when they received a pay rise but what will become of those employed in the private sector?

Times are hard and prices of goods and services keep on going up.

The private sector’s argument has always been that the cost of doing business has always been high and it is not at all conducive to suggest a pay rise as it would affect business. However, with everyone having more money in their pockets, the spending within the local economy would be higher resulting in higher earnings for businesses.

Perhaps, it is the most opportune time for the government to consider raising the national minimum wage rate.

Comparatively, neighbouring Fiji increased its minimum wage rate last year to $4.91 tala an hour to counter inflation. Cook Islands minimum wage rate also went up to NZ$8.00 ($13.36 tala) an hour and American Samoa pays in US dollars has its minimum wage rate around $17.00 tala an hour.

The calculation for Cost of Living Adjustment was done with civil servants last June, all that remains is the application to the minimum wage rate.

It would be interesting to see if the bigger businesses in Samoa will do their assessments to see if their employees are paid well enough to afford a good standard of living and it would be even better if they decided to raise their wages on their own without the government setting a new minimum wage rate.

That would be the best thing to do but as we know, some businesses in Samoa, big or small thrive on the fact that there is a demand for unskilled work and people are ready to work for $3.00 an hour. To make ends meet, employees work longer hours. In some cases, they tell their employers not to deduct the superannuation from their pay.

That is the reality of the situation on the ground. There are teenagers who should be in school but are engaged in employment because one person working on minimum wage in a family is just not enough.

People are living in hard times. Those on minimum wage need an increase. As a responsible government, it is time to act and ensure people can afford a good life.