Island passes highest minimum wage in British Isles
BBCThe Isle of Man minimum wage will increase by 5% from April, making it the highest salary for the lowest-paid earners in the British Isles.
Tynwald approved the latest increase to the rate this week, taking the over-18 adult hourly rate from £12.25 to £12.86.
Despite the significant rise, several politicians criticised it as not going far enough, after previous plans to increase the rate by 9.9% were axed last month.
But Enterprise Minister Tim Johnston said the Manx minimum wage had increased by more than 60% since 2021, something he described as "a really positive thing".
The £12.86 figure, based on a 35-hour week, equates to an annual salary of £23,405.20 for a full-time worker and sits comfortably above neighbouring jurisdictions.
In the UK, the adult wage for those over 21 is £12.71 an hour and £23,132.20 a year, while in Ireland, the amount applicable for over-20s is €14.15 an hour, which equates to about £12.35 an hour and about £22,495 a year.
Manx ScenesThe rate is more closely aligned to the Isle of Man's higher cost of living, largely down to the high level of demand on imported goods.
But several members of the House of Keys said the 5% rise was "not sufficient".
Rushen MHK Michelle Haywood apologised to the lowest paid workers on the island.
She said: "I'm really sorry to those workers who planned their household budgets and their lives on the understanding that the original commitments made by this court would be honoured."
Tynwald agreed in February last year to align the minimum wage with the living wage, but this was scrapped in July when members approved a new framework to calculate the figure based on median earnings.
However, following months of discussion and criticism from those in the local business sector over the 9.9% hike, this was abandoned last month in favour of a more modest 5% increase.
Speaking in the Manx parliament this week, former Treasury minister, Ramsey member Alex Allinson, said Tynwald had reneged on decisions repeatedly in the space of 12 months.
He called for clarity over the current rate-setting system to "stop wasting people's time and expectations going forward".
Onchan member Julie Edge said: "We need Isle of Man solutions for Manx problems", adding that median earnings of the public sector was "causing the problem with our minimum wage".
On the Isle of Man it sits at 28% she said, compared to 7% in the UK.
"We need to consider the difference in the actual structural costs in the Isle of Man for pay," she said, and called for the enterprise minister to calculate what the median earnings would be without the public sector.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Alfred Cannan said the increase had come at a time when youth unemployment in the UK was at 16.1% and unemployment as a whole had crept up to 5.2%.
He said that while unemployment on the island was low, currently at 0.6%, there were more applications coming in for fewer roles and they should not "take things for granted".
Placing a "fixed mindset above the realities of the market or the situation we're facing is dangerous", he said, and it would present "no flexibility and fluidity to react" in future.
Enterprise Minister Johnston said the existing framework had reverted to the previous system in place with the Minimum Wage Committee, that had delivered a more than 60% increase in the minimum wage since 2021.
Johnston said: "I think that's a really positive thing.
"We now revert back to a system that's been in place for many years and has served us well."
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