Archive for February 24th, 2011
Anglin coy over basic wage
(CNS): Despite comments by the premier on Monday confirming the United Democratic Party government’s commitment to a minimum wage, the minister for labour appeared less enthusiasticabout the prospect when he made a speech in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday. Rolston Anglin, who is currently revising the Labour Law with a view to presenting the new legislation to his parliamentary colleagues by the time of this year’s budget debate, said there were many arguments against a basic minimum wage and many issues for Cayman to consider before introducing the legislation. Listing some dozen questions over the issue, at no time did he say if he actually supported the concept or not.
The minister’s speech comes in the wake of a political battle which took place during the committee stages of the Legislative Assembly on Monday, when the independent member for North Side attempted to insert a clause into a government amendment of the labour law to remove the cap on workers’ severance and compensation that would have introduced a national basic minimum wage. Ezzard Miller had proposed a flat minimum rate of $5 but his motion was eventually removed by the speaker on the basis, she said, that there was not a schedule with his amendment.
However, the issue focused the legislator’s attention on the debate for the introduction of a minimum wage in Cayman, which has continued for several years with no government managing to actually implement one, despite there being provision for it in the Labour Law.
On Wednesday Anglin spent some time presenting the arguments for and against a minimum wage in his speech with a definite emphasis on those against.
“Although the goals of the minimum wage are widely accepted as proper, there is a great disagreement as to whether the minimum wage is truly effective in attaining its goals,” the minister stated, adding that minimum wages were highly controversial and had received much less support from economists than the public, and he said that despite decades of experience the debates continued. “It is extraordinarily difficult to separate the effects of minimum wage from all of the other variables that affect employment.”
Listing the pros and cons, he said that while supporters claimed it increases the standard of living for the poorest, those against said it excludes low cost competitors and hampers business from reducing wage costs in recession and hurts small businesses. While those for it say it stimulates consumption by putting more money in people’s hands, others say it causes inflation, the minster pointed out.
In the Cayman context Anglin said there were lots of questions, from what the rate should be, what its real impact on poverty would be, what its impact would be on attracting Caymanians into the workforce away from illegal activities, and would it increase the cost of living, he asked rhetorically.
He wondered whether employers would lower existing wages to drop down to meet a minimum wage and how families would cope with the increase in the cost of hiring domestic helpers, and what the impact on small business would be. He queried whether benefits would be factored into the rate, whether some categories of workers had to be exempt and what the enforcement implications would be to government.
Miller’s attempts to introduce a minimum wage via committee on Monday would not have been debated on the floor of the House, would not have allowed for the 21 day consultation period or for public gazette and would not have answered any of the questions he had raised, Anglin told the Legislative Assembly.
“As elected members we must ensure that what we do will benefit our people,” the minister added. “The government must have dialogue and consultation to ensure the impact of a minimum wage is positive and that our people are better off because of it. Such dialogue cannot be restricted to talk show appearances or introducing committee stage amendments to bills.”
Anglin said government was not opposed to a minimum wage but said it would be properly debated and “robust public consultation allowed”, as the outcome had to be one that betters people’s lives.
Fishing presents biggest threat to reefs
(BBC): Three-quarters of the world’s coral reefs are at risk due to overfishing, pollution, climate change and other factors, says a major new assessment. Reefs at Risk Revisited collates the work of hundreds of scientists and took three years to compile. The biggest threat is exploitative fishing, the researchers say, though most reefs will be feeling the impact of climate change within 20 years. But, they say, there are measures that can be taken to protect at least some. The report is compiled by a group of more than 20 research and conservation organisations, led by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in Washington DC.
"This report serves as a wake-up call for policymakers, business leaders, ocean managers, and others about the urgent need for greater protection for coral reefs," said Jane Lubchenco, head of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (Noaa).
"Local and global threats, including climate change, are already having significant impacts on coral reefs, putting the future of these beautiful and valuable ecosystems at risk."
The report revisits some of the territory explored in the original Reefs at Risk project, published in 1998, but in much greater detail.
No sign of third man as kidnapping trial set to open
(CNS): The crown has succeeded in an application to have Richard Hurlstone tried in his absence along with co-defendants Allen Kelly and Charles Webster for kidnapping, assault and blackmail. The trial which relates to an incident that took place in North Side in March 2010 was due to open on Wednesday morning in Grand Court but with Hurlstone still nowhere to be seen the crown had asked to continue prosecuting the case against him despite his not being there. The absent defendant is though to have absconded to Honduras and the judge hearing the case ruled that it was evident that Hurlstone had voluntarily chosen to be absent and was well aware of his trial date, and ordered that the crowncould go ahead and start the trial without him.
However, the decision threw up other legal questions relating to his co-defendants and resulted in further legal applications which have delayed the start of the trial.
The three men are facing six counts against them which relate to the same incident in which the men allegedly kidnapped a young man and asked his parents for a ransom of $500,000. The kidnapping however went wrong when their victim escaped some 36 hours after being abducted and was able to raise the alarm.
Hurlstone, who was given bail in August, was revealed to have absconded in December. When he failed to appear at Bodden Town police station the alarm was raised and police learned from immigration records that his wife and children had left the jurisdiction for Honduras. It was also later revealed that Hurlstone had sold personal property on the local classified website and a family member told the police that he had left the island. The defendant had posted surety and had his passport seized by the courts but police say they believe he is not in Honduras.
The crown’s goal is to try Hurlstone not just in his absence but at the same time as his co-defendants in order not just to save public money but also to save witnesses from having to go through the ordeal of testifying twice.
The case is now expected to open at noon on Thursday
Bush targets zero public debt
(CNS): Following his trip to Jersey earlier this month the Cayman Islands premier has said that he would like to see this jurisdiction copy the UK crown dependency when it comes to managing public finances especially its lack of public debt. He said Jersey has zero public debt as the jurisdiction has not borrowed any money since the 1950s, has reserves of over 1.6billion pounds and has funded all of its capital projects through its own revenue. McKeeva Bush told the legislative Assembly on Wednesday that it was a position and philosophy that he would like the Cayman government to achieve.
He said Cayman’s debt had been forced on his government and it was now in a position where it was unable to borrow anymore. Despite improvements in the country’s economic situation he pointed out that the public debt as of January 2011 was CI$560million and the FCO had stated that the government would not be able to borrow anymore money next year. He also lamented the fact that no money had been put into the country’s reserves since 2004.
“My government happens to be fundamentally averse to borrowing” he stated. “We have had to incur borrowing during our present term to continue capital projects started by the previous government.”
Bush said when he came to office in May 2009 following the PPM administration there was a public debt of CI$373 million approximately three times what it was when he left office in May 2005 or 163% increase in the debt position by the PPM over its four-year term of government.
He stated that now if government were to borrow the full $155million which the UK had approved for the 2010/11 financial year the country would then owe more than CI$626million. With a projected GDP for this year of around CI$2.5 Billion central government debt would be 25.3 percent of the GDP, which Bush said was too far and he did not intend to take it any further.
Bush also hit back at reports in the British press that the UK government had lent money to Cayman which was not true. He noted that Cayman had never received a red cent from the UK not even in the wake of Ivan. However, Cayman had sent money to the UK during the 1980s when it was fighting the Falklands war.
Although not from the UK, the cost of servicing the government’s debt obligations is forecasted to be around 13% of government’s revenue for this year which is in excess of the maximum specified in the Public Management and Finance Law of 10%.
As a result Bush said that in future infrastructure development by government could only occur from its own resources.
“Since the introduction of more revenue enhancement measures by the Government is not an optimal choice, the country must move on other alternatives to obtaining the resources needed to develop and enhance the Islands’ infrastructure: that is, by using public assets and using the proceeds there from to continue the development of these Islands,” the premier said.
He revealed his intention to use private projects and the country’s assets to develop the infrastructure that the country needed.
“The possibility of central government borrowing externally in the short-term to provide funding needed to develop the Islands’ infrastructure is not going to happen. Therefore, the careful use of our public assets, the utilization of our national assets, the construction of the North Sound Channel, the development of a Special Economic Zone, the Shetty Hospital and other infrastructure-boosting projects represent a sensible way of continuing the much-needed development of these Islands,” he stated, adding that the projects would be of benefit not just in the present situation, but to future generations.
See premier’s official statement below