Editorial: Shame On You! (Minimum Wage)

Palau’s President signed into law the first increase in minimum wage in sixteen years, website like this yay!. . . wait . . . it does not apply to anyone who is hired before October, 2013? It does not apply to the hardest working foreign workers? And an employer can reduce the minimum wage based on food and housing deductions that they themselves calculate? Is this a minimum wage bill or a minimum impact bill.

And how about the penalties? Maximum penalty for a violation is $500 paid to the government and $1,500 paid to the victim-employee. It would not take long for an employer violating the law to surpass this number. So why not violate the law, it might just make financial sense. Of course the employee can take legal action in to their own hands if the overworked AG does nothing after ninety days, but who can afford to take a chance at litigating a case for tens of thousands of dollars only to recover $1,500 and attorney fees . . .if they win.
Under the new minimum wage bill, if you are an employer paying minimum wage you no longer have to pay for travel, food, housing or other expenses. But minimum wage is not fully in effect until 2016. So if an employer pays their employee $2.75 beginning in October, 2013 they can still collect food and housing from the employee’s paycheck leading to a loss for the employee. What about farmers, domestic helpers and others who are exempt? Who knows? The bill says nothing about them. Oh, and by the way since March 30, 2005, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has prohibited the employment of domestic helpers in Palau (Advisory Number 07).
The minimum wage does not apply to contracts entered into before October 1, 2013, hmmmm. What if my contract is with a Philippine employment agency not the individual and signed before the cutoff date? How long can a contract be for? 5 years, ten years? What about renewal of a contract or an extension of an existing one? What about the farmer working as a mechanic or the DH working as a cashier, who is going to enforce that one?
So here is the bottom line. Everyone in the Republic, Palauans and foreigners, will get an equal minimum wage unless:
You are a farmer, domestic helper, caretaker, houseboy or babysitter. (500+workers)
You are a student, are on probation or work for a non-profit (300++workers)
You are receiving housing from your employer (4,000+workers)
You are hired before October 2013 (everyone else)
Minimum wage is supposed to be just that, minimum wage. What we now have is a stillborn bill with so many exceptions that almost no one qualifies and it is impossible to enforce. Once again the Palau government has failed to do its job, to create a fair and transparent minimum wage that will level the playing field for all workers, be acceptable under international human rights standards and encourage the hiring of Palauan citizens in the work force.
This minimum wage bill is a mirage — misleading people to think they government is actually helping them but it actually protects the businesses run by those who passed the law. But now that it has passed the legislature can pretend to have accomplished something and they don’t have to talk about minimum wage for another 16 years. Shame on you elected leaders, again you have misled the voters!
/s/ Name Withheld