STEP bill hits EC$54 million as long-serving workers wait for permanent jobs
The Prime Minister defended the spending but acknowledged that some participants have spent years on the programme without a path to a permanent post.
BASSETERRE, St Kitts. The government spent EC$54 million on the Skills Training and Empowerment Programme (STEP) between January and October 2026, Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew has said.
Speaking at The Roundtable on Thursday, Dr Drew said the programme supports about 2,400 participants at an average cost of about EC$5.4 million a month.
STEP pay has been raised to EC$500 a week, in line with the national minimum wage for a 40-hour week. Dr Drew said participants' pay had been unchanged for seven years under the previous administration. The national minimum wage rose from EC$9.00 to EC$10.75 an hour in January 2024, and to EC$12.50 in July 2025.
"This is real support coming from the government," the Prime Minister said.
Dr Drew said STEP workers face the same household costs as everyone else and deserve the increase. He said he will consult participants directly ahead of the next budget, and asked them in return to give a full day's work.
STEP was launched in February 2017, replacing the People Employment Programme, which began in 2012.
At the same session, Dr Drew said he had asked the Financial Secretary to examine how STEP workers can move into permanent employment, after hearing from a woman who had worked in government through the programme for about eight years but was refused a mortgage because her bank considered the placement temporary. The government first said it was pursuing wage-sharing arrangements to move long-serving participants into direct employment in February.
