Minimum Wage Committee membership raises questions over legal eligibility

MLC Gary Clueit raises concerns over local authority member's inclusion

Government is facing questions over the composition of the Minimum Wage Committee after it emerged that one of its members may fall within disqualification rules set out in law.

The issue centres on who is legally allowed to sit on the statutory body that advises government on minimum wage rates.

Under Section 2(4) of the Minimum Wage Act 2001, a person is "disqualified from serving on the committee if they are a member of the Legislative Council, the House of Keys, a Statutory Board, or a local authority."

Bill Galley, a long-standing representative of workers and trade unions, has served on the Minimum Wage Committee for several years.

In April 2025, he was elected to the Castletown Town Commissioners - a local authority under the terms of the Act.

By becoming a local authority member, question marks arise as to whether he falls within the disqualification provisions set out in the 2001 legislation.

Despite this, official government records and committee statements published as recently as January 2026 continue to list Mr Galley as an active member of the committee.

The Minimum Wage Committee is a statutory body. Its recommendations are used by government when setting the Island’s legal minimum wage rates.

If the committee’s composition is not fully compliant with the Act, it could raise questions about the status of its recent advice - including the January 2026 discussions around the proposed five percent wage "reset" - if a member not lawfully eligible took part.

The Department for Enterprise has previously said it is reviewing the role and function of the Minimum Wage Committee as part of wider 2025-26 employment legislation reform. It is unclear whether that review includes consideration of membership eligibility.

Minister Tim Johnston admitted to Tynwald that the composition of the committee now needs to be reviewed.

Legal considerations

In legal terms, decisions involving someone not lawfully appointed could potentially be described as "ultra vires" - meaning beyond legal authority.

Whether that threshold has been reached would depend on interpretation of the Act and any action taken following the election.

However, speaking in Tynwald, the Attorney General Walter Wannenburgh said the legislation "without doubt" disqualifies a person who is subsequently appointed to "any of the branches, a Statutory Board, or local authority" from continuing to serve on the Minimum Wage Committee.

He added that the legal consequences would depend on the circumstances of any decision taken.

He told the Court: if a member has voted in a way which has swayed the committee’s decision one way or another (in other words, where there has been a split vote) there could be scope to challenge the validity of that decision.

However, it is less likely in the case of a unanimous decision.

Manx Radio has approached both the government and Mr Galley for comment.