Minimum wage 'too high for some sectors'

Jersey's current minimum wage level is too high for some sectors and a rise would increase their costs, the economic development minister has said.

Deputy Gerald Voisin's views on the minimum wage were recently in the spotlight after he wrote an article saying it was "strangling the economy".

In the States Assembly on Tuesday, he was asked if he would consider lowering the minimum wage in light of his comments.

He said he and the social security minister would wait for the Employment Forum to complete its consultation on what the rate should be in 2027, and also he had not ordered any investigation into lowering or abolishing the minimum wage.

The social security minister has responsibility for setting the level of the minimum wage after the Employment Forum makes recommendations on what it thinks the level should be.

Its current consultation is due to end on 18 September.

Voisin was asked about his views on the minimum as he faced the Assembly on Tuesday for the first time since he said the minimum wage was strangling the economy.

He said: "I have not instructed my department to investigate the economic impacts of lowering the minimum wage or of abolishing it."

However, Voisin said the current level was too high for some sectors.

He said: "I have seen evidence that the minimum wage at £13.59 is too high for some sectors of our economy.

"I have been told this by the chief executive of Jersey Business, who has seen the accounts of a number of businesses that are struggling.

"And so that is why I'm particularly keen that we need to do something to help these businesses because they need to regain their competitiveness."

Voisin said global events were putting prices up but increasing the minimum wage was not the solution.

He said: "If we're going to take one thing away... please can it be that Jersey is suffering from the unravelling of globalisation.

"And, most prominently, this can be seen by Brexit, which occurred a few years ago now, and we've now got trade wars emerging around the world.

"We've got two wars in the world going on and what this is doing is stopping the free movement of labour. It's stopping the free movement of capital and goods and it is basically pushing up prices.

"So, the problem is that we cannot apply a cyclical solution, ie: putting up the minimum wage, to address a structural problem."

Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.