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Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 5:49 pm
by GodIsADeeJay81
https://www.theguardian.com/society/201 ... ge-low-pay" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 5:55 pm
by IanMcL
Except he'll be out of his job any time now, so irrelevant.

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 6:11 pm
by GodIsADeeJay81
So his successor wouldn't carry it on then in your opinion?

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 6:12 pm
by AndyClaret
yeah, but food banks, austerity or something.

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 7:28 pm
by TheFamilyCat
If he writes it on a bus the Tories are guaranteed to win the next GE.

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 7:35 pm
by Spiral
AndyClaret wrote:yeah, but food banks, austerity or something.
Food bank usage is typically a consequence of a combination of underemployment and high basic living costs. Even an absolute $hithole of a flat or house is expensive to rent. Austerity manifests, basically, as a (noticeable) reduction in public services, and on a macro level suppresses the economy. Increasing the min wage can be a good idea in theory (according to some theories) because real wages have fallen behind inflation for a while now, but raising MW closer to living wage levels doesn't disprove the two things you mention, which was, I think, what you were trying to do in a glib fashion. I know you already know all this. Everyone knows it. But still, people peddle this $hit as though rising hunger and homelessness isn't a stain on a country like ours. As though we shouldn't expect better. As though we don't have the capacity for better.

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 7:47 pm
by Colburn_Claret
Nobody working a 40 hour week should receive benefits, that's the only realistic level for a minimum wage. Why pay people to work out benefits, in order to subsidise poor employees. It's just a waste of tax payers money.
That level of MW would have to be set for a single, childless 21 year old, but it's a starting point.
That could also mean an increase in cost of some products or services, but surely that's a price worth paying , to achieve such a goal.


No matter what you pay as a minimum wage, some people will always claim dependence on food banks.

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 7:51 pm
by Spiral
Did you mean employers, or employees, there, Colburn?

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 8:57 pm
by Jel
As good as this is for unskilled/semi skilled workers, I find is unfair on people who have worked hard and studied to get a trade. As a maintenance engineer I find that an average hourly rate to be around £11 to £13.
This is obviously higher than the proposed minimum wage however when you take into account annual pay rises (if you're lucky to get one), and the rate that the minimum wage is increasing, it becomes ridiculous.
It's going to get to a point when industry will struggle to get skilled workers simply because school leavers won't have the incentive to study and may as well work in a job straight from school. It may be also tempting to existing skilled people to get a job such as shelf filling, where work pressures would be considerably less.

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 9:38 pm
by Colburn_Claret
Spiral wrote:Did you mean employers, or employees, there, Colburn?
Employers

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 9:49 pm
by CoolClaret
Jel wrote:As good as this is for unskilled/semi skilled workers, I find is unfair on people who have worked hard and studied to get a trade. As a maintenance engineer I find that an average hourly rate to be around £11 to £13.
This is obviously higher than the proposed minimum wage however when you take into account annual pay rises (if you're lucky to get one), and the rate that the minimum wage is increasing, it becomes ridiculous.
It's going to get to a point when industry will struggle to get skilled workers simply because school leavers won't have the incentive to study and may as well work in a job straight from school. It may be also tempting to existing skilled people to get a job such as shelf filling, where work pressures would be considerably less.
Spot on. My exact sentiments...

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 10:20 pm
by Damo
The kind of policy that makes Corbyn unelectable

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Mon May 06, 2019 3:56 am
by dsr
Spiral wrote:Food bank usage is typically a consequence of a combination of underemployment and high basic living costs. Even an absolute $hithole of a flat or house is expensive to rent. Austerity manifests, basically, as a (noticeable) reduction in public services, and on a macro level suppresses the economy. Increasing the min wage can be a good idea in theory (according to some theories) because real wages have fallen behind inflation for a while now, but raising MW closer to living wage levels doesn't disprove the two things you mention, which was, I think, what you were trying to do in a glib fashion. I know you already know all this. Everyone knows it. But still, people peddle this $hit as though rising hunger and homelessness isn't a stain on a country like ours. As though we shouldn't expect better. As though we don't have the capacity for better.
Food bank usage is a function of two other things. One, their availability. Two, lack of social stigma to using them.

Why are we using more food banks than ever before? Not because we're poorer than ever before. Even now, you can go into Farmfoods with one hour's worth of minimum wage and buy two large loaves of bread, seven pints of milk, eight pounds of vegetables, and a dozen apples. Add another hour, you get two big boxes of cereal, half a dozen tins of beans, and a chicken. Has food ever been so cheap?

Food bank use is increasing because it's there. What did people do when they lost their jobs before food banks? They gave up something else to buy food. Now, they don't have to.

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Mon May 06, 2019 10:22 am
by IanMcL
Jel wrote:As good as this is for unskilled/semi skilled workers, I find is unfair on people who have worked hard and studied to get a trade. As a maintenance engineer I find that an average hourly rate to be around £11 to £13.
This is obviously higher than the proposed minimum wage however when you take into account annual pay rises (if you're lucky to get one), and the rate that the minimum wage is increasing, it becomes ridiculous.
It's going to get to a point when industry will struggle to get skilled workers simply because school leavers won't have the incentive to study and may as well work in a job straight from school. It may be also tempting to existing skilled people to get a job such as shelf filling, where work pressures would be considerably less.
So keeping folk short is a good thing? Food banks acceptable? Slavery by another name.

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Mon May 06, 2019 10:25 am
by FactualFrank
£10 an hour would be reasonably for a minimum hourly wage. To be honest, I thought it already was about that.

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Mon May 06, 2019 10:27 am
by taio
I hope they do this. It would another good example of supporting the less well off.

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Mon May 06, 2019 6:57 pm
by If it be your will
.

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Mon May 06, 2019 7:13 pm
by AndrewJB
If minimum wage had kept pace with the rises in top salaries, what would it be now?

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Mon May 06, 2019 7:20 pm
by Rowls
IanMcL wrote:So keeping folk short is a good thing? Food banks acceptable? Slavery by another name.
That's not at all what the poster said IanMcL.

I didn't agree with everything he said but it's no excuse misrepresenting him like that.

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Mon May 06, 2019 7:28 pm
by taio
AndrewJB wrote:If minimum wage had kept pace with the rises in top salaries, what would it be now?
It has typically risen by 4% - 5% a year so higher than inflation.

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Tue May 07, 2019 12:01 am
by IanMcL
Rowls wrote:That's not at all what the poster said IanMcL.

I didn't agree with everything he said but it's no excuse misrepresenting him like that.
It is the action and consequences ce of the statement.

The positive outcome should be that you work a week at are able to not require benefits or support to eat and live.

The skilled members of society then get more, as reward for their skills achievement and so live better.

Re: Potential minimum wage increase to be world's highest

Posted: Tue May 07, 2019 11:15 am
by AndrewJB
taio wrote:It has typically risen by 4% - 5% a year so higher than inflation.
I reckon that if the minimum wage had been linked to CEO pay since it was introduced, then it should be about £14 or £15 per hour now.

https://www.epi.org/publication/ceo-pay ... ince-1978/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;