During Pierre’s emancipation day address earlier this month, he issued a stern warning to employers, discouraging them from laying off workers.

The new minimum wage, at a rate of $6.52 per hour, will come into effect come October 1st, 2024. Between August and October, Pierre indicated, employers will have sufficient time to make the necessary financial adjustments.

At a recent party conference, Pierre, also the political leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party, claimed the UWP is colluding with some employers to facilitate the laying off of workers.

“The United Workers’ Party is planning and plotting with people to lay off workers. They are plotting to destroy you, to destroy Saint Lucia - that's what they're plotting to do,” Pierre said.

The Prime Minister also reiterated his call to business owners to avoid sending staff home as a means of cutting costs, asserting that Saint Lucians must be paid fairly.

“And I want to tell the business people not to allow themselves to be used by opportunistic politicians. Give the workers their just wages. And the people must work for these just wages.”

This new minimum wage is set to directly benefit 13,000 employees across the business sector in Saint Lucia.