Adult minimum wage to rise by 19p per hour

mattcanary

gadgetmind wrote: »

I just employed a recent graduate who's working remotely from China and earning 2x NMW. Skills now count for far more than geography.

Also, I grew up in a seaside town and haven't been out of work at any point since the age of 13.

Bully for you

trollopscarletwoman

amiehall wrote: »

While I obviously agree that many hourly paid staff can't get as many hours as they like, I can't understand what that has to do with someone's ability to live on the minimum wage.

If you work full-time (35-40 hours) on minimum wage, you should be able to live on that. How high the minimum wage should be doesn't have much to do with whether you can find a full time job or not...

I don't know what it is but people just don't seem to get it. Quite often you won't even get 35-40 per week. In the insecure, wait at the dock gates to see if you get any hours work environment, that millions of us find ourselves in, tax credits are the only thing that keep us afloat and allow any semblance of a half decent living.

Full time working, tax credits, and level of nmw are intertwined. Unless of course you wish to abolish tax credits. I hope you do. Then we'll have a revolution-and I'll love it.

amiehall

trollopscarletwoman wrote: »

I don't know what it is but people just don't seem to get it. Quite often you won't even get 35-40 per week. In the insecure, wait at the dock gates to see if you get any hours work environment, that millions of us find ourselves in, tax credits are the only thing that keep us afloat and allow any semblance of a half decent living.

Full time working, tax credits, and level of nmw are intertwined. Unless of course you wish to abolish tax credits. I hope you do. Then we'll have a revolution-and I'll love it.

I know. What was it about what I said that you didn't understand...? I said that a lot of hourly paid staff couldn't get the full-time hours that they want. I wouldn't expect to be able to support myself only working part-time or on a zero hours contract. You would need an unreasonable level of NMW to pay your bills on 15 hours a weeks work.

So I don't understand what under-employment has to do with what level the minimum wage should be at. I genuinely don't get the point of your post.

trollopscarletwoman

gadgetmind wrote: »

I just employed a recent graduate who's working remotely from China and earning 2x NMW. Skills now count for far more than geography.

Also, I grew up in a seaside town and haven't been out of work at any point since the age of 13.

Good for you and the graduate.

However, if we've got to the situation whereby only those with superior skills can find work then logically we have to accept that those without those skills have to be given at least a subsistence living because I'd rather not walk over them in sleeping bags in the underpass.

But that's just me.

Workfare won't provide the kind of skills I believe you are referring to either.

trollopscarletwoman

amiehall wrote: »

If you work full-time (35-40 hours) on minimum wage, you should be able to live on that. How high the minimum wage should be doesn't have much to do with whether you can find a full time job or not...

I assume your excluding tax credits.

If so minimum wage at 35 hours is £6.31*35*=£220.00 per week, minus ni-£18 (not sure on that).

My council tax is £28-00 per week.

Mortgage £157 per month and that's after big lump sum.

Can you seriously argue that you can really live, and not just barely survive, on bare nmw?

BillJones

trollopscarletwoman wrote: »

Totally agree.

Should have been a hell of a lot more. And across the board. At least a £1 more.

So do you think it'd be a good idea to make it £20, or maybe £50?

If not, why not?

trollopscarletwoman

BillJones wrote: »

So do you think it'd be a good idea to make it £20, or maybe £50?

If not, why not?

Its up to the questioner first to give his/her view on what it should be. Then I'll reply.

furthest

I love it when posters say minimum wage should be lowered. When the majority of people on minimum wage require government assistance just to live. Taxpayers are subsidising employers that fail to pay a living wage to their employees. My taxes are going into the pockets of big business. Disgusting.

amiehall

trollopscarletwoman wrote: »

I assume your excluding tax credits.

If so minimum wage at 35 hours is £6.31*35*=£220.00 per week, minus ni-£18 (not sure on that).

My council tax is £28-00 per week.

Mortgage £157 per month and that's after big lump sum.

Can you seriously argue that you can really live, and not just barely survive, on bare nmw?

I've lived quite reasonably when I was earning about £6.40 before and I was too young to be entitled to tax credits at the time (which is a joke in itself...)

I was living in north England at the time though, I wouldn't particularly want to be living in London on that.

I own my own car, I take foreign holidays, and I've been able to save up almost enough for a house deposit. I definitely was able to do more than survive on close to NMW.

stix62

BillJones wrote: »

So do you think it'd be a good idea to make it £20, or maybe £50?

If not, why not?

From the article in the first post...

''Living wage needed'

The national minimum wage still lags behind the £7.65/hour living wage, which many say should be the the minimum. In London, the living wage stands at £8.80 an hour.


... that would be a good place to start - a 'living wage'. ..and t.b.h, £7.65 / £8.80 is not 'living' as I would define it.