A highly anticipated Cayman Islands report is expected to reveal a sizeable number of workers being paid below-poverty wages, and less than an even lower minimum wage (about $7.20).

Recommendations for a new minimum wage standard in the Cayman Islands, expected by next week, have now been delayed until next month.

The Cayman community is eagerly anticipating decisions from the Minimum Wage Advisory Committee, which is still working to finalise the report’s delivery. But there are already questions as to how far the committee can go to raise the obligations and whether authorities will be able to enforce them.

The island is considering the first increase to the national minimum wage since it was introduced in 2016.

It comes after the tortuous process in Bermuda to arrive at one of the highest minimum wage levels in the world.

Bermuda’s Employment (Minimum Hourly Wage Entitlement) Act 2022 and the Employment (Minimum Hourly Wage) Order 2023 sets out employees' rights to, and their employers' obligations to pay, a minimum hourly wage of $16.40.

Four years ago, then Cayman Premier Alden McLaughlin ordered a review, as his advisory committee, with input from the International Labour Organisation, sought to assess the value of the minimum wage of $6 an hour (KYD$1 = $1.20).

This did not include those with an hourly rate as low as $4.50 ($5.40) an hour plus gratuities for hospitality workers, and as low as $4.50 an hour plus housing for domestic helpers.

Businesses have claimed that any more than an additional two dollars would put many of them out of business.

Even before issuing the report, the Cayman committee has already questioned the ability of the Government to keep up with the compliance and enforcement roles that will be required.

The Cayman News Service has quoted Lemuel Hurlston, the committee chairman, who told an online town hall meeting: “We believe that compliance and enforcement going forward is likely to become a major, major challenge.”

He said his committee suspects that the department responsible for administering, regulating and enforcing labour legislation “is not sufficiently staffed or sufficiently resourced to do the work to the standard that the public is expecting”.

The CNS reported: “The committee has been gathering information over the last eight months, and during this time it has documented worrying exploitation of low-paid workers.

“Some were not paid overtime or pensions, while some people employing domestic workers were taking and retaining their employees’ passports.”

The report also said: “Most workers being paid at the minimum wage are work permit holders, though around 800 to 900 local workers are being paid $6 an hour. These people often receive government assistance, which means that taxpayers are indirectly subsidising employers who are exploiting their staff.”

The Economics and Statistics Office has set the Cayman poverty line at $6.50 per hour.