SER Curaçao advises on minimum wage set to take effect January 1

WILLEMSTAD, December 22, 2025 — The Social and Economic Council of Curaçao (SER) submitted its advice on Monday to the Minister of Social Development, Labor and Welfare (SOAW), Charetti America-Francisca, on a proposed adjustment to the statutory minimum wage scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026. The proposal would index the gross minimum hourly wage by 1.8 percent, using a 12-month moving average of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) through August 2025. The mechanism is intended to track price developments over time rather than mirror short-term inflation swings. Under the draft measure, the gross minimum hourly wage would rise from Cg. 11.72 to Cg. 11.93 (Caribbean guilder), and the corresponding gross minimum monthly wage would be Cg. 2,066.28, based on the applicable calculation method.

The advisory process unfolded on an unusually compressed timetable. The SER received the formal request for advice on December 15, leaving limited time before the intended effective date. As a result, the advisory council said, there was little scope for the customary round of consultations with social partners and external experts that often accompanies advice on significant socioeconomic measures.

In its review, the SER examined the proposal against the legal framework of the National Ordinance on Minimum Wages, with attention to legislative intent and requirements linked to legal certainty and transparency. The SER also assessed the measure in Curaçao’s socioeconomic context, drawing on available data on prices, incomes, labor-market conditions and sectors where the minimum wage plays a significant role.

The SER further reviewed the policy and economic rationale set out in the explanatory memorandum, including the consistency of the figures, the assumptions about how many workers could be affected by indexation and the way potential effects were presented. The SER also considered a macroeconomic impact analysis prepared by the Ministry of Economic Development and based on the Curalyse model, consistent with standard caveats associated with model-based projections.

The SER said it documented its methodology explicitly in the advisory. The assessment relied on a systematic literature review and additional desk research; separate consultations could not be organized within the available period in a manner consistent with customary standards of diligence and depth.