St. George’s, September 11, 2011  –  Security guards, who have received solid support from the trade union movement for a government-proposed pay rise, do not have the backing of two would-be NNP election candidates, Nicholas Steele and Alexandra Otway-Noel.

“As far as we know, there wasn’t any consultation,’’ Otway-Noel said in a television interview when asked to comment on the minimum wage increase proposal.

The announcement of the proposed increase followed the receipt of a report from a Wage Advisory Committee that was established in May 2008 and included representatives from the Grenada Trades’ Union Council and the Grenada Employers’ Federation.

The committee recommended minimum wage hikes for domestic workers, security guards and 12 other categories of employees.

Government, after deliberating on the recommendations, agreed to a new $750 minimum monthly pay for domestic workers. The minimum wage for a security guard will increase from $4 an hour to $8 an hour.

“Recognizing that some security companies will have to engage their clients to discuss the effect of the new rates on their existing  contracts, we have decided to allow a grace period of three months once gazette before the new rates are effective,’’ said Labour Minister Glynis Roberts.

The Grenada Private Sector Organization (GPSO), which groups business interests in the country, has said that members are not opposed to the pay increases.

According to GPSO representatives, however, they are concerned about the “magnitude’’ of the increase and the “timing’’ of it, arguing that many security guards could lose their jobs if the pay hike is implemented.

Steele and Otway-Noel, who are both from family-owned business backgrounds, expressed similar views to the GPSO during an appearance on the CC6 program, “You Decide.’’

Steele, saying he doesn’t “begrudge’’ security guards a pay rise, foresees doomsday for the workers, predicting that some will be dismissed by the security companies that employ them.

He added that the $4-an-hour increase “just doesn’t make sense,’’ while Otway-Noel described it as impractical, saying that “companies are not going to be able to pay.’’

Otway-Noel is the New National Party’s Constituency Caretaker for St. George South, which is represented in parliament by Labour Minister Roberts.

Steele is the NNP’s Caretaker for the Town of St. George, whose MP is Peter David – Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, and General Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress.