Wages in New Caledonia

Photo by Laurent Guiader, 2006.

With the cost of living being high in New Caledonia, I am often asked if the salaries are commiserate. How are people able to make it here - given that rent, food and clothing are all expensive?

There are several populations on the island. There are the public service employees (the military, the teachers, the administrators, the postal workers, etc.). There are the people who are paid minimum wage (those who work in the food industry, commerce, tourism, etc.). There are the retirees. There are the people who have come from the Loyalty Islands to earn a living to send back to their families.

In general, the public service employees are very well paid in comparison to the average New Caledonian citizen. Those who come for fixed stays often have a very nice salary (higher than they would earn in the "metropole" - mainland France) and some have lodging practically free of charge. They also receive a bonus for being here. The idea is that they should be recompensed for having to living so far away from France. My sense is that the public service employees are among the highest paid. They can easily afford the cost of living here and still have money left over at the end of the month. They generally own cars and boats and their children own scooters and mobile phones.

The minimum monthly wage in New Caledonia is €963.70 (or $1,280.68) . The hourly rate is approximately €6,02 (or $8.00). I know that babysitters are paid approximately €5 an hour, and maids €5,86 an hour. When you look at how much it costs to live in New Caledonia, one wonders how people living on minimum wage make it. Basically, they live frugally. They buy a lot of rice, they shop at the markets, they do not own luxury items, they do not have Internet, they do not go out on outings (many of the locals have never been to the neighbouring islands, much less Australia or New Zealand). They also do not live in big, expensive houses or apartments in town. There are ghettos here, and some build homes out of cardboard boxes or tin siding.

The retirees receive their monthly pensions and then some. They are what we call "indexé". They can receive up to 20-40% more on top of their pensions. Again, this goes back to way back when when it took a week to get here by boat. France esteemed that those willing to travel to, and live in, such a faraway place should be recompensed for such a thing. There is some debate at the moment as to whether or not the indexation should be stopped (it costs France and its taxpayers a pretty penny) - or at least rewarded to those who have worked on the island. For you see, French citizens who come to retire here can receive such an indexation, never having worked here.

Lastly, there are the islanders (from Lifou, Maré and Ouvéa) who come to Nouméa to make a living. My hunch is that they carve out a life for themselves, but it is no picnic. Some of them live in the ghettos - thereby avoiding paying rent and electricity, so as to send more back home. They work as hard as they can and their kids generally stay back on the islands with the tribes. As there is little or no work on the islands, living and working in Nouméa is one of their only choices.

Methinks there is a fifth population - the Caldoches, the island's white local population. They own businesses and nice homes. They've been here a long time and have worked hard for all that they have. They send their kids to mainland France to get good educations and they invest in New Caledonia to keep it thriving.