PNP campaign spokesperson accuses JLP of politicising minimum wage
Published:Monday | September 1, 2025 | 2:14 PM
People's National Party (PNP) campaign spokesperson Cleveland Tomlinson has accused the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) of politicising the national minimum wage, asserting that the JLP is engaging in a desperate attempt to win over voters.
Tomlinson was speaking at a PNP press conference on Monday in response to Sunday's announcement by JLP leader and Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness at a party mass rally in Spanish Town, St Catherine.
Holness indicated that, if elected, the JLP will double the national minimum wage to $32,000 per 40-hour work week over “the next few years”, starting next year.
The national minimum wage now stands at $16,000 per 40-hour work week.
Holness said it would be moved to $18,500 “in our first budget and then gradually after that for the next few years."
Tomlinson argued that adjusting the minimum wage requires a careful balancing act, as it has implications.
He noted that the PNP in its election manifesto has committed to implementing a liveable wage and will pursue this effort through consultation and consensus.
He added that the PNP plans to establish a liveable wage commission to lead the process.
"The minimum wage should never be politicised, given the delicacies surrounding an adjustment," said the PNP spokesperson.
Pressed for a figure on where the PNP would want the minimum wage to be, Tomlinson said the party would be guided by inflation and consultation.
Tomlinson argued that the PNP wants to see Jamaicans live a life with dignity and to offer opportunities to experience upward mobility.
He argued that while the Government has done the work to make the macro-economy stable, the lived experiences of Jamaicans are different, and they need money back into their pockets.
He pointed to initiatives in the PNP's manifesto, such as increasing the personal income tax to $3.5 million, removing tax on overtime, first in the family education grants, and transportation assistance for students, as things to be put in place by his party to help ease burdens being faced by Jamaicans.
For his part, PNP campaign spokesperson Raymond Pryce took a swipe at the JLP, noting that neither Holness, Labour and Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles Jr, or Finance Minister, Fayval Williams, mentioned anything about adjusting the minimum wage during the recently held election debates.
"This is a late in the day, clutching at the straw to try and salvage a dying campaign," charged Pryce.
"The people of Jamaica are wiser than that, and we are confident in your wisdom," he added.
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