Reform Jersey to Fight Against Government Abandonment of Living Wage Pledge

Reform Jersey has expressed its extreme disappointment at the government report recommending that the plan to raise the Minimum Wage to the Living Wage by the end of 2024 is abandoned and has vowed to take action to allow the States to reverse this decision.

In 2021, the States of Jersey adopted a Reform Jersey proposition to set a target for raising the Minimum Wage to two-thirds of median earnings by the end of 2024. Following another successful Reform Jersey proposition in 2022, the government undertook a review to establish the legal framework for implementing this. This report was published on 18th December and concluded that no laws should be changed and that the target for raising the Minimum Wage will be missed.

Party Leader, Deputy Sam Mézec, said – “The report published by the government this week is a shameful disregard of States Assembly decisions that have previously been made to adopt the Living Wage in Jersey.”

“The report offers no economic assessment justifying their abandonment of this target, nor does it refer at all to the plight of the lowest paid workers in Jersey who are suffering from the cost-of-living crisis. Instead, they have cited the failures of other governments to deal with the Living Wage as an excuse for why Jersey should continue as we are.”

“It seems that poverty pay will persist under the Better Way Conservative Coalition. However, we in Reform Jersey remain committed to raising the Minimum Wage to a real Living Wage, as we have been since we were founded. We will be discussing options to bring forward counter proposals in the new year to get the journey towards the Living Wage back on track.”