SABA/ST. EUTATIUS--The new premiums for employers in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba have been published in the National Gazette (Staatscourant). The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment SZW will lower the premiums from 18.4 per cent to 13.4 per cent effective January 1, 2019.
This way, the wages can increase, and the purchasing power will go up, according to SZW. Via a structural reduction of cost for employers, these may raise salaries without a net increase of wage cost.
The increasing wage margin varies per situation and will be between 3.4 per cent and 4.4 per cent, depending on whether the employer pays pension contributions or not. It is intended that employers fully reflect this margin in their employees’ wages, according to a statement released by Shared Service Organisation Caribbean Netherlands (SSO-CN).
Per January 1, 2019, the statutory minimum wage will increase with five per cent in addition to the inflation adjustment. By law, employers are therefore subject to pay employees, who currently earn the minimum wage, five per cent more as of that date.
Benefits such as the social assistance (onderstand), the widows, widower and orphan pensions AWW and the old-age pension AOV will also increase along with the minimum wage. The exact amounts will be communicated by the Ministry of SZW in the course of November.
