Plus 21p. Wow! Big Deal!

jambutty · 05-03-2008, 14:36

It has just been announced that as from the 1st September 2008 the minimum wage will go up by 21p to £5.73 per hour.

That’s a rise of a smidgin over 3.8%.

It was also recently reported that if a household income is below £16.5k pa that household is living in POVERTY.

At 40 hours per week the minimum wage equates to £11,918.40 pa on which Income Tax is paid.

Verb sap!

Better than a kick in the teeth but as Mahatma Ghandi put it:
The world has enough for every man's need, but not enough for every man's greed.

Neil · 05-03-2008, 14:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by jambutty

That’s a rise of a smidgin over 3.8%

3.8% will be more than many will get. What is the average wage rise this year and rate of inflation?

andrewb · 05-03-2008, 14:48

Presumably when they quote the £16.5k figure it refers to more than 1 person in a household though?

WalkOnBRFC · 05-03-2008, 15:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil

3.8% will be more than many will get. What is the average wage rise this year and rate of inflation?

In April I get a payrise of 4.8%

cashman · 05-03-2008, 15:28

the minimum wage is and always has been an INSULT, then the dummies that think its ok, bitch about people who stay on benefit.

Doug · 05-03-2008, 15:44

Social care wages are ****e in a lot of areas, best I can offer staff is £5.90 per hour plus fuel allowance, that comes out of hourly £10.50 service rate. Some Preferred Providers are paying £6 but not many. Some of the biggest agencies up here are pay £5.55 and no fuel allowence on a £11.38 & £12.00 hourly services rate. They could pay a lot more but don't see why they should and this leads to poor retention rates in the industry at a time when we have a massive short fall of viable candidates.

Neil · 05-03-2008, 16:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by WalkOnBRFC

In April I get a payrise of 4.8%

You must work for a decent company then.

I have not looked at what an average rise is this year so yours might be naff.

jaysay · 05-03-2008, 18:21

The guy that pays for my keep don't give me big rises at all, then he wonders why I shout and pull faces at during Prime Ministers Question Time

jambutty · 05-03-2008, 19:07

There are two real problems.

First wage increases and inflation are all quoted in percentages and even an amoeba will know that 5% of £100 is a lot less in cash than 5% of £1,000. When bread goes up, as it surely will because of the world wheat shortage, it will not go up by X% but by X pence with scant regard as to who is buying it. Or in other words if a loaf of bread goes up by 20p it won’t matter if the buyer is earning £1,000 per week or just £100. They will both have to pay the extra 20p.

No jokes about bread going up because the dough was rising please.

The other problem is that the minimum wage discourages many employers from paying the market rate for the job, which in many, many cases would be higher than the minimum rate.

As I understand it Cyfr by household they mean an average family and it would be income from all sources. This would include tax credits, child allowance, or whatever it is called these days, etc.

jackyalex · 06-03-2008, 18:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyfr

Presumably when they quote the £16.5k figure it refers to more than 1 person in a household though?

I think that is the average (working class) household income combined, as its close to what we have for a family of 5 coming in per annum

cmonstanley · 06-03-2008, 20:31

whats you winjin at.at least there is a minimum wage people have short memories.i can still remember when the tories opposed it and when they were in power rejected it and people were still working for a pittance not so long ago people like care workers ,factory workers ,and shop assistants on £2.50 an hour. thatcher and her cronies said it would destroy the british economy.it did the opposite...

cashman · 06-03-2008, 21:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmonstanley

whats you winjin at.at least there is a minimum wage people have short memories.i can still remember when the tories opposed it and when they were in power rejected it and people were still working for a pittance not so long ago people like care workers ,factory workers ,and shop assistants on £2.50 an hour. thatcher and her cronies said it would destroy the british economy.it did the opposite...

that is perfectly true, its an improvement to what was, under the tories, but that dont mean its ideal/good etc, there needs to be a level that is adequate and ABOVE benifits.

jambutty · 07-03-2008, 09:46

What has happened since the introduction of the minimum wage is that many employers, who were paying their workforce a wage higher than the minimum, found an excuse to get rid of them and then took on new workers at the minimum wage.

I don’t suppose that anyone has considered this but if we are to have a minimum wage, which we have, the logical progression from that is to have a MAXIMUM wage.

Neil · 07-03-2008, 11:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by jambutty

I don’t suppose that anyone has considered this but if we are to have a minimum wage, which we have, the logical progression from that is to have a MAXIMUM wage.

And what figure would you set that at then?

andrewb · 07-03-2008, 11:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashman

that is perfectly true, its an improvement to what was, under the tories, but that dont mean its ideal/good etc, there needs to be a level that is adequate and ABOVE benifits.

I agree we should have a minimum wage.

However, raising it too much would raise inflation and have a negative impact, especially on those who are worse off financially. It needs to be handled carefully, and benefits need sorting to be for the needy not the lazy.