The Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment will adjust the amounts for minimum wage, child benefit, and social security benefits in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba as of January 1, 2025, based on 2024 inflation figures.

The statutory minimum wage will be indexed across all three islands. For Bonaire, it will in­crease by 2.5% to US $10.35 per hour, for St. Eustatius by 3.1% to $10.41 per hour, and for Saba by 2% to $10.30 per hour. Weekly or monthly wages depend on the number of hours worked.

Old-age pension AOV recipi­ents with complete AOV will receive $1,525 per month in Bo­naire, $1,534 in St. Eustatius, and $1,517 in Saba from January 2025. These amounts include the so-called “cost of living allow­ance” for AOV recipients in Saba and St. Eustatius.

AOV recipients living outside the Caribbean Netherlands will also receive $1,517 per month with complete AOV.

Child benefits will also increase. Parents and care­givers will receive $231 per month per child in Bonaire, $223 in St. Eustatius, and $230 in Saba.

In addition, social relief and other benefits, such as the AWW, will also be ad­justed.

“To support employers with higher wage expenses due to the increase in the statutory minimum wage in 2024, employer premi­ums, including the health insurance premium, will be reduced by 1.6% as of January 1, 2025. Together with the earlier reduction in 2024, the total decrease amounts to 3.1%,” the min­istry said in a press release on Monday.

“By setting the new amounts, the ministry en­sures that minimum wage, child benefit, and social benefits are adjusted based on price developments measured by the Central Bureau of Statistics in the third quarter of 2024. Dif­ferences in price develop­ments in Bonaire, St. Eu­statius and Saba have been taken into account.”

The Daily Herald.