From the DTI
"The adult rate of the minimum wage (for workers aged 22 and over) will increase from its present hourly rate of £4.85 to £5.05 in October 2005, and to £5.35 in October 2006. The 2006 increase is subject to confirmation by the Commission in February 2006, to check that the economic conditions continue to make it appropriate."
I just don't get it, is the idea to get people in to work, off the dole or reward lazy stupid people? The average wage in the country (well the UK) is £19.5k, now to attain that level you have to (probably) get a good education, A-Levels, College, Uni and then work your ass off climbing an employment ladder is some suck ass, god awful office! Well maybe that's just Northern Ireland... but the point is why should people in crap, basic, dead end, no qualifications needed jobs get as much as £5.05 per hour? I think it devalues every other job out there that requires a bit of effort and ground work to be put in!
If you happen to think that $5.05 is not enough get off your ass, get an education, put the hours in, climb that ladder, work 2 jobs, whatever but remember you don't get something for nothing! Otherwise I think that minimum wage should be enough to live on, sure we live in a consumer society and you can't have the best PC, latest mobile or pimped out car but who really cares about that, as long as you get paid, in the sky rocket, down the bookies, drinks all round of a Friday evening. You only have yourself to look after! In the case of having children, tax credits, etc apply and your wages will be almost doubled anyway!
The point of this rant is... If you want more cash go and get it otherwise shut the hell up and stop moaning! If everyone got off there ass and off the dole or the DLA the country would have so much more cash and we would have the best standard of living in the world, along with the best health care, education, amenities, public transport, etc! I say give out food tokens instead of cash to anyone out of work and then see what happens to employment levels, then we can scrap the small business crippling minimum wage nonsense!
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2 comments:
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I disagree.
£4.85 x 40 hours is £194.00
There isn't a job in the UK that isn't worth £194 a week. Not a single solitary job anywhere in this country that isn't worth that pitiful amount of money, and there isn't a viable moral or economically sound argument in favour of peying people less than £200 a week for a full time job. Wages that are less than this lead directly to situations like the cocklers of Morecambe Bay. Virtual economic slaves working for less than a pound an hour totally in thrall to their slavedriving masters who hold the value of their lives as less than a bucket of shellfish. I'm against certain parts of the minimum wage, mainly the effect it has on those jobs that paid slightly more than minimum wage, and the employers who have happily let those wages decrease in real terms until those jobs now only pay the minimum mandated by law.
Nobody can raise a child on £194 a week while paying for somewhere to live. In fact it is the lowest paying jobs that help cause the amount of our economy spends on welfare. If you have a child or are a carer for a relative, even if you work one of these McJobs, you will still have to receive state assistance of one form or another. This is the real problem. If the minimum wage was £6.00 an hour a whole section of the population would be able to properly look after themselves, and might actually be a bit more motivated to do their job right, instead of the half-arsed attitude someone earning next to nothing almost inevitably has.
Sorry, but I think there needs to be some perspective. I hate scroungers and dole cheats more than anyone, but the minimum wage is one of the few things introduced in the last 15 years that is of true social worth. It should be higher, not lower. The same tired arguments were put forward year after year before the introduction of the NMW, and there weren't any jobs lost when it was introduced. In fact given that it put more money in the pockets of employees (and therefore more money in the Treasury in the form of income taxes, as well as VAT on the purchases that people made with the new money), it is no surprise that millions more jobs have been created in the UK since it's introduction.
Cheers
Kayeso
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