Decrease in employers premiums creates room for salary increase

The new employers’ premiums for the Caribbean Netherlands have been published in the ‘Staatscourant’. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) will lower the premiums from 18.4% to 13.4% effective January 1^st, 2019. This way, the wages can increase and the purchasing power could go up.

Through the structural reduction of employer costs, employers can increase salaries without wage costs rising. The wage margin that increases, varies per situation and will be between 3.4% and 4.4%, depending on whether the employer pays pension contributions. It is intended that employers fully reflect this margin in their employees’ wages.

Increase of minimum wage

The Statutory Minimum Wage (WML) will increase per January 1^st, 2019 with 5% in addition to the inflation adjustment. By law, employers are therefore subject to pay employees who currently earn the minimum wage, 5% more as of January 1^st, 2019. Benefits such as the social assistance, widows, widower and orphan pension (AWW) and the old age pension (AOV) will also increase along with the minimum wage. The exact amounts will be communicated in the course of November by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment.

RCN