A large number of Manx business owners have voiced their frustration at the planned minimum wage increase during a heated meeting of the newly formed Local Economy Forum at the Best Western Palace Hotel in Douglas on Monday evening.

The forum, which was launched in response to Tynwald’s recent vote to raise the minimum wage to £13.46 per hour from April 2026, aims to highlight what it calls the ‘destructive impact’ of the rise on the island’s private sector.

Organisers say the group is open to all Manx businesses and is seeking to engage constructively with government to find what it describes as a fairer and more sustainable alternative to the increase.

Rather than simply warning of closures and job losses, forum members presented a detailed proposal they believe would improve take-home pay for lower-paid workers without crippling local employers.

In a statement issued after the meeting, forum chairman Chris Robertshaw said the group’s plan would see a slightly lower gross hourly rate of £12.70, combined with a targeted tax credit to ensure workers take home more than they would under the government’s proposed rate.

‘Businesses want to see living standards improved for their lower-paid workers,’ Mr Robertshaw said. ‘But it’s counterproductive to put the full burden on the private sector whilst government bolsters its tax revenues to grow an already overweight public sector.

‘Government needs to play its part in the process rather than surging minimum wage every year, pocketing 40% of the additional costs to business in increased taxes and watching our local economy wither away.’

According to the forum’s figures, its proposal would raise a minimum wage worker’s take-home pay to £22,993, compared to £22,621 under the current Tynwald-approved plan, while cutting the additional cost to businesses by more than half.

The forum is also calling for the Isle of Man’s minimum wage to be tied to the UK’s National Living Wage, to avoid the ‘volatility’ caused by what it describes as the island’s ‘larger public sector premium’.

Mr Robertshaw warned that many businesses were already preparing for redundancies and operational cutbacks in anticipation of the April increase.

‘People are already losing their jobs as a consequence of the government’s ill-conceived approach,’ he said. ‘We have to act quickly if we’re to arrest the damage.’

The mood in the room on Monday reflected that concern.

Dozens of business owners attended the meeting, where discussions at times became heated.

Attendees expressed deep frustration at what they see as a government unwilling to listen to those most affected by its policies.

Only a handful of MHKs were present, including Treasury Minister Dr Alex Allinson, who last week defended the policy in the House of Keys, insisting the increase would ‘improve conditions for the lowest paid in society’.

Dr Allinson told MHKs that around 40% of migrant workers currently declare on their visa applications that they are paid the minimum wage, and that the increase would apply to all workers regardless of immigration status.

‘The key objective for minimum wage policy,’ he said, ‘is to improve conditions for the lowest paid in society. Increasing the minimum wage to better reflect the cost of living in the Isle of Man will ensure that those worker migrants in lower-paid roles are better able to participate in society and contribute to the island’s economic prosperity.’