SER Curaçao provides opinion on proposed minimum wage increase

WILLEMSTAD, December 18, 2024 — Curaçao’s Social and Economic Council (SER) has issued its advisory opinion on a proposed increase to the country’s statutory minimum wage, following deliberations last Tuesday, December 17. The plan, set to take effect on January 1, 2025, includes a 3.9 percent increase in the minimum hourly wage, raising it from NAf 11.28 to NAf 11.72. The adjustment is based on inflation data from August 2024, calculated by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).

Officials have framed the measure as an effort to protect the purchasing power of minimum wage earners amid escalating living costs.

Following Article 13, Section 1 of the National Ordinance on Minimum Wages (P.B. 2022, no. 135), the SER is required to provide input on the annual determination of the minimum wage. This year’s advisory was prepared at the request of the Minister of Social Development, Labor, and Welfare (SOAW) and was finalized during a special session of the council. If implemented, the adjustment is expected to increase the minimum monthly wage by NAf 76.21 in 2025.

The annual indexing of the minimum wage is considered a vital policy tool to support economic stability and promote social equity in Curaçao.