Minimum wage troubling small businesses

THE EDITOR: As a small businessman I am not too surprised that the big businesses have agreed to the increase in the minimum wage. They are aware of the fact that the small business cannot afford it, and will have to close and not compete against them. What happens when competition drops, prices increase? Everyone seems to be talking about the one dollar increase, that is when the eight dollar person gets nine dollar but we need to talk about the nine dollar person he would have to get ten dollars and the twelve dollar person would have to get fifteen, this is only going to increase inflation.

A large percentage of our workforce is being taken up by CEPEP, OJT, MUST, Civilian Conser-vation, the new agricultural training programme, URP, YTEPP. I know of many youths who were doing agriculture or masonry, are now in the MUST programme for easy money. Long ago it took five or three years to learn a trade. Go to YTEPP or MUST for a few months and you get a loan to open a business. To those who have a job, the increase will be good. To those who do not have a job the poverty gap will increase, since employment will be more difficult and prices will go up. Businessmen would not incur a loss without applying an increase to combat it.

Even the doctor now has to pay extra to his maid, cleaner, security, receptionist and driver. The increase in wages will see more business closing, more unemployment, and an increase in crime. To start a small business, you need to employ two persons in addition to a security, and a cleaner or maid. Your wage bill per week at $9 per hour is $1440 for workers and $600 for yourself, total $2,040, making up a total of $3,000 with utility bills. If your mark up is 10 percent you need to sell at least $30,000 per week. Which new business you know could sell this kind of money per week.  I feel sorry for those workers who take VSEP, or youths wanting to do business, they may never see a business.

The farmer has to pay the increase to his worker, he would now have to increase the price of his food, the worker who gets the increase will have the money to buy, the farmer will not therefore drop his price. The unemployed will not be able to buy and resorts to banditry. Someone has to ask, what do you do with a business that cannot make enough to pay $9 per hour, should you close down and add to the list of unemployed. Is half a loaf better than none at all, or are they willing to show you how to make the profit to pay? We are not going to reach anywhere, by applying wage increases except to increase inflation, which is difficult to reverse.

A ALI
Curepe