Minimum Wage / Living Wage |  Salaire Minimum / Salaire naturel |
Page révisée le 14 mai 2012
[ Go to Canadian Social Research Links Home Page ]
Minimum Wage / Living Wage | Salaire Minimum / Salaire naturel |
|
|
|
|
|
Ontario
2011
Minimum Wage Rate Set - Highest of Canadian Provinces
McGuinty Government Striking the Right Balance
February 11, 2011
After seven consecutive increases, the Ontario minimum wage rate will remain
at $10.25 per hour in 2011, the highest provincial minimum wage in Canada. The
Ontario minimum wage has increased by 50 percent with annual increases in the
last seven years. These increases outpaced inflation in part to make up for
a nine year minimum wage freeze between 1995 and 2004.
Source:
News
Releases
[ Ontario Ministry
of Labour ]
2010 Ontario minimum wage increase - this link takes you further down on the page you're now reading
NOTE : The Minimum wage section of the Ontario Govenrment Links page of this website includes news releases for each of the annual increases for 2008 to 2010.
|
|
New Brunswick
Minimum
wage reversal splits opinion
N.B. may have lowest minimum wage in Atlantic Canada on Oct. 1
July 21, 2011
The Progressive Conservative government's decision to postpone the minimum wage
increase planned is creating a rift in opinion between business owners and those
who were banking on the upcoming raise. New Brunswick's minimum wage was set
to increase to $10 from $9.50 per hour on Sept. 1, but Labour Minister Martine
Coulombe announced that hike is being shelved until April 1, 2012.
Source:
CBC News New Brunswick
Related links from the
New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice :
Increases
in Minimum Wage are not the culprit!
Small and Medium size business analysis is wrong (PDF - 28K, 2 pages)
New Release
August 17, 2011
[ Version française
]
(...)The main argument put forth by small and medium size business owners are
that a higher minimum wage will trigger job losses. The numbers presented in
our brief seriously question their affirmation.
The Brief:
The
Need for Sustained Increases in the Minimum Wage:
A Brief prepared for Members of the Minimum Wage Board
By The New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice Inc. (PDF
- 355K, 123 pages)
August 2011
[ Version française
]
(...) The Common Front for Social Justice is worried about the possible delay
in bringing the minimum wage up to $10, as was recently announced by the N.B.
government. This would have an extremely negative impact on the working poor.
With the cost of basic necessities such as shelter, food, electricity and home
heat heating, one wonders how these people will survive the hardships of winter.
Source:
New Brunswick Common Front
for Social Justice (NBCFSJ)
[ Version française du
site ]
The Common Front for Social Justice is one of the largest democratic and popular
organizations in New Brunswick, with close to 75,000 group and individual members.
The Common Front brings together individuals as well as local, regional and
provincial organizations to work towards the eradication of poverty.
---
Reaction from the
NB Media Co-Op:
Minimum wage
earners subsidizing employers
August 22, 2011
By Jody Dallaire
I know it’s a tough economic year but you would think this would be when
we protect the working poor--put them last on the list of those who will be
asked to make a sacrifice. You would think we would not target them first. Those
at minimum wage in New Brunswick have been asked to subsidize their employers
for a few months more. Meanwhile, the corporate tax rate as well as the tax
rate of New Brunswickers earning between $74,000 and $121,000, for example,
is decreasing by another 1%, and the small business tax rate is set to drop
by 0.5%. Instead of the expected wage increase in September, minimum wage workers
will not get the promised additional 50 cents per hour until, we are told at
this point, next April when, hopefully, it will finally reach $10 per hour,
which was the goal awhile back because it was the average in the Atlantic provinces.
Source:
NB Media Co-Op
Independent media by and for New Brunswickers
More now than ever, we need media to be a tool of accountability and democracy.
This is impossible when the province's media is almost entirely controlled by
one company, which has its own corporate interests at heart, rather than those
of the public. We wish to fill that void by making independent media widely
accessible to all.
[ About NB Media Co-Op ]
Related links:
Hourly
Minimum Wages in CANADA for Adult Workers, 2005 to 2014
- includes links to comparable information for all Canadian jurisdictions back
to 1965.
Source:
Minimum
Wage Database <=== Click for more minimum wage resources
[ Employment
Standards Legislation in Canada ]
[ Labour Program, Human
Resources and Skills Development Canada ]
- Go to the New Brunswick Links page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/nbkmrk.htm
|
|
Restoring Minimum Wages in Canada
By Ken Battle
April 2011
Abstract
Full document
(PDF - 217K, 50 pages)
A severe recession with its tight fiscal aftermath is not a time when one expects
improvements in social policy. But there is a bright spot for one of Canada’s
oldest social programs – minimum wages, which have risen substantially
in recent years in every province and territory except one (British Columbia).
And BC just announced an end to its lengthy freeze on the minimum wage, starting
with an increase on March 16, 2011.
Source:
Caledon Institute of Social Policy
---
Raising
the minimum wage to reduce poverty
By Andrew Jackson
April 8, 2011
Ken Battle of the Caledon Institute has written a very useful report: Restoring
Minimum Wages in Canada. It contains a wealth of data on minimum wage trends
by province since 1965 and their changing relationship to average wages and
to the low income line.
Battle shows that, in almost all provinces and territories, with the notable
exception of B.C., minimum wages rose from the early years of the past decade,
restoring a lot of lost ground. He suggests that further progress will require
general agreement on a minimum wage standard (e.g. 50% of average earnings),
and indexing of minimum wages (to prices or to average wages) once they reach
that level.
Source:
rabble.ca
Similar articles from rabble.ca:
* Excellent
Data on Minimum Wage in BC
* A
reason to celebrate: Ontario's minimum wage rises to $10.25
* $16
living wage?
* Making
the minimum wage a living wage
* "Official
Restaurant" of the Olympics pays $6.35 per hour in Vancouver
|
|
The
Non-Simple Economics of the Minimum Wage
By Jim Stanford
February 22, 2011
Canadian Auto Workers Economist and renowned author Jim Stanford vs the Fraser
Institute on the subject of minimum wage.
"(...) Gradual increases in minimum wages, within reasonable bounds, have
virtually no impact on employment at all, in either direction. So long as levels
are set realistically relative to productivity and profitability, minimum wages
can be increased with no measurable damage to employment."
More PEF postings on minimum wage - links to 20+ postings
Source:
Progressive Economics
Forum (PEF) - blog
[ The Progressive Economics Forum
]
Related link:
Does
hike in minimum wage cut poverty? Findings say no
By Stephen Gordon
March 18, 2011
The British Columbia government’s decision to increase its minimum wage
to $10.25 an hour from $8 - an increase of more than 25 per cent - by May 1,
2012 is apparently based on its government’s stated desire to help lower-income
families. The NDP opposition’s position is that the measure is long overdue,
and is only a "first step" towards reducing poverty. These are noble
sentiments, but if the B.C. Liberals and the B.C. NDP believe that the minimum
will help reduce poverty and inequality, then they are likely to be disappointed.
[ 83 comments ]
[ Related article : Clark increases B.C. minimum wage after decade-long freeze, March 16, Globe and Mail ]
Source:
Globe and Mail
|
|
From the
Canadian Federation of Independent Business
(CFIB):
Minimum
wage hike in
New Brunswick will hurt more than help
Moncton, February 16, 2011
In spite of government's promise to re-examine planned minimum wage hikes, it
just confirmed small businesses' worst fear - the minimum wage will increase
on April 1st by 50 cents and then on September 1st by another 50 cents to finally
reach $10 per hour. This total jump of 10 per cent in one year alone will put
New Brunswick in second place tied with the oil-rich Newfoundland and Labrador
among all provinces.
-------------------------------------------------
From the CBC:
The
Other Side of the Minimum Wage Coin (audio podcast interview)
February 15, 2011
"Kevin Steen, president of Damascus Coffee in Riverview, and Real Robichaud,
Executive Director of Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick, talk about
the increase of minimum wages and how it will affect the province."
[ Also included in this clip, but curiously omitted from the CBC's description
in the above blurb, is a brief exchange with Jean-Claude Basque, Co-chair of
the Common Front for Social justice.
-------------------------------------------------
From the
Common Front for Social Justice:
[ Front commun pour la justice
sociale ]
The Common Front for Social Justice is fighting to build a more humane society
based on the respect and dignity of all. We want a New Brunswick without poverty.
We want a society which gives each and everyone a decent living, in particular
by having a minimum wage and social income on which citizens can live on and
not just exist.
Press
conference following World Day of Social Justice:
Minimum wage in New Brunswick is keeping thousands of workers in poverty
(PDF - 191K, 6 pages)
February 21, 2011
February 20th was proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations as
World Day of Social Justice in 2007. By unanimously adopting this day of reflection
about “opening up our tents”, the 192 members of the UN recognize
that the objective of social development is social justice, solidarity, harmony
and equality within and among countries. (...) On this day following World Day
of Social Justice, we at the Common Front for Social Justice wish to publicly
state that in New Brunswick (N.B.), thousands of workers are living in poverty.
Indeed, poor people are getting poorer and rich people are getting richer. The
Common Front for Social Justice is concerned about three proposals [concerning
the minimum wage] coming mainly from employers in the business sector:
1. Proposal for a different minimum wage for workers in training.
2. Proposal for a lower minimum wage for the food service sector.
3. Proposal for a lower minimum wage for workers under the age of 18.
Related links:
Current
and Forthcoming Minimum
Hourly Wage Rates for Adult Workers in Canada
Source:
Labour Program, Human
Resources and Skills Development Canada
---
Minimum
Wage : Reframing the Debate (PDF - 4.5MB,
36 pages)
February 2011
(...) This report attempts to quantify the number of Canadian jobs affected
by minimum wage increases. CFIB estimates that a 10% increase in the minimum
wage across all provinces costs between 92,300 and 321,300 jobs. These job losses
can take the form of hiring freezes, slower employment growth or direct job
cuts during economic downturns.Not only minimum wage earners are affected by
these job losses, but also those workers earning more than the minimum wage.
(...) This report is intended to spark public debate on minimum wage policy
and to ensure that governments explore alternatives (...) rather than focus
on a blunt tool that leaves low-income earners behind. It is time to reframe
the debate.
Source:
Canadian Federation of
Independent Business
Counterpoint
by Andrew Jackson:
Flogging
a Dead Horse:
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) on Minimum Wage
February 10, 2011
The CFIB have a new study out attacking minimum wages. Their estimate of job
losses from a 10% increase in minimum wages is based on elasticities from studies
which found significant negative impacts on employment and discounts the many
studies which have found very small impacts. The OECD - which is more impartial
- has found the effect of minimum wage increases on adult employment to be very
small. Moreover, they have found that minimum wage increases reduce the gap
between lower and middle income workers, promoting greater equality.
---
Here's a sample of the 13 readers' comments
( scroll down past the end of the posting ):
By Paul Tulloch:
" I have yet to read a study by the Cfib that is not charged with politically
beaten numbers. Every study done by that org is twisting up the numbers the
way the Cfib wants to make it’s point on. Not an ounce of unbiased research
has ever come from that place. They are the worst abusers of numbers I have
witnessed. In fact I have a very difficult time labeling their research departments
output as ’studies’. Truly they are a loud propaganda machine for
small business, and stronger than most unions, but do you ever hear of small
business bashing? "
Source:
Progressive Economics
Forum (blog)
[ The Progressive Economics Forum
]
More PEF postings on minimum wage - links to 20+ postings
---------------------------
Related link to a recent
U.S. study on minimum wages:
Combining
Minimum Wage and Earned Income Tax Credit Policies to
Guarantee a Decent Living Standard to All U.S. Workers
(PDF - 1.4MB, 64 pages)
October 2010
By Jeannette Wicks-Lim & Jeffrey Thompson
This study advances proposals to substantially strengthen minimum wage laws
and the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program in the United States,
so that, in combination, they can guarantee decent living standards for all
full-time U.S. workers and their families. By considering minimum wage laws
and the EITC as complements, we show how these measures can operate most effectively
to achieve this guarantee and, crucially, how any possible negative unintended
consequences of each measure can be minimized.
Source:
Political Economy Research Institute
University of Massachusetts
|
|
Alberta
Alberta Employment Minister Lukaszuk
urged to up basic wage by two bits [Expired link]
By Karen Kleiss
September 16, 2010
Albertans earning minimum wage will get a 25-cent-an-hour raise and the province
will implement a poverty reduction strategy if the government accepts new recommendations
from an all-party committee. The standing committee on the economy voted Wednesday
to recommend Employment Minister Thomas Lukaszuk quickly raise the minimum wage
to $9.05 and that he take steps to implement a provincewide poverty reduction
strategy similar to the 10-year plan to end homelessness. The current minimum
wage of $8.80 an hour and has not changed since April 1, 2009. Alberta is one
of three provinces that does not have a poverty reduction strategy.
Source:
Edmonton Journal
On the same topic, from
the Calgary Herald:
Alberta MLAs reopen minimum wage debate; is $8.80 too
much to pay? [Expired link]
Alberta dropping to second-lowest rate in Canada
By Renata D'Aliesio
September 15, 2010
Alberta's minimum wage -- frozen earlier this year -- is set to sink to the
second lowest in Canada as a group of provincial politicians weigh possible
changes that would affect how much low-paid workers make. An all-party MLA committee
meets today to hash over about a half-dozen draft recommendations on the future
of the province's base pay after Employment Minister Thomas Lukaszuk requested
a review in February.
Source:
Calgary Herald
Related links:
Success!
WOW!
September 15, 2010
Yesterday was a great day for the entire Vibrant Communities Calgary family.
We would like to thank all of the volunteers and community partners that make
it possible for us to do the important work of addressing the root causes of
poverty in our community. With the help of Dave Taylor, Independent MLA for
Calgary Currie we were able to help motivate the Standing Committee on the Economy
to unanimously recommend a Poverty Reduction Strategy for Alberta.
Source:
Vibrant Communities Calgary
* Standing
Committee on the Economy (Alberta Legislative Assembly)
* Calgary-Currie MLA Dave Taylor
- home page
Memorandum
: Alberta Minimum Wage Review (PDF - 633K, 2 pages)
February 25, 2010
Memo consisting of a request from the Minister of Employment and Immigration
the Standing Committee on the Economy to conduct a review of Alberta´s
minimum wage policy to ensure that it meets the current and future needs of
workers and employers and remains relevant throughout changes to the economic
climate.
Women
Together Ending Poverty:
Submission to the Minimum Wage Policy Review (PDF - 86K, 7 pages)
June 23, 2010
(...) WTEP believes that the minimum wage should be a living wage thereby providing
someone who works full time access to a standard of living that is at least
over the low income cut off line. We believe that such a policy is good for
women, and good for the economy.
Source:
Women Together Ending Poverty
WTEP is a diverse, grassroots women’s group that was formed in Calgary
in February 2008, to educate and empower ourselves and other women to take action
on the root causes of poverty.
|
|
Recent release from
The Daily [Statistics Canada]:
From the March 2010 online edition of
Perspectives on
Labour and Income:
Minimum wage
* HTML
* PDF
(170K, 9 pages)
Abstract: All provinces and territories set minimum wages in their employment
standards legislation. This update uses the Labour Force Survey to examine the
characteristics of those who work at or below the minimum wage for experienced
adults in each jurisdiction. The incidence of working for minimum wage has increased
each year since 2006 but remains concentrated among youth, particularly young
women.
|
|
Ontario's
Minimum Wage Increases
March 31, 2010
Table showing the old (March 31, 2009) and new (March 31, 2010) minimum wage
rates for general workers, for students, for liquor servers, for homeworkers,
and for hunting/fishing guides.
- also includes more detailed information about conditions that apply to the
special (i.e., non-general) categories
[ news
release - March 30]
Source:
Employment Standards
[ Ontario Ministry of Labour
]
How does that compare
with other Canadian jurisdictions?
Current
And Forthcoming Minimum Hourly Wage Rates For Adult Workers in Canada
(this is the BEST resource for info on current
and upcoming minimum wage levels by province/territory)
NOTE: In addition to Ontario, several other jurisdictions
have either recently increased their minimum wage level or will be doing so
in the coming months.
Click the link above to see who changed when...
Source:
Minimum
Wage Database
[ Employment
Standards Legislation in Canada ]
[ Labour Program, Human
Resources and Skills Development Canada ]
Related links:
Back
to Scratch
By John Stapleton
March 31, 2010
With the recent increase in Ontario's minimum wage, the gap between the minimum
wage and the welfare rate is as wide as it was during the Depression. [ At the
time, a single person's maximum welfare payment ("relief packet")
amounted to 36 per cent of what someone could make working for minimum wage.]
(...) The yearly difference between the single welfare rate and minimum wage
is now $19,500 in gross minimum wages versus $7,020 in basic assistance. So
we have the same stark work incentives as we did in the depths of the Great
Depression. Who says history doesn't repeat itself?
Source:
The Mark - News and Perspectives
Daily
Open Policy
- John Stapleton's personal website, incl. links to his other writings
________________________
Related historical snapshot:
Minimum wage vs
cost of living in 1975 and in 2007 (PDF - 251K, 1 page)
How living costs have outgrown the minimum wage
- compares how much work time it would take, working at the prevailing minimum
wage in 1975 and 2007, to pay for ordinary purchases such as a loaf of bread
or a dozen eggs.
Source:
The Toronto Star
|
|
British Columbia
November 26, 2010
Vulnerable
BC Workers
On November 1st, 2001,BC's minimum wage was set at $8.00 an hour. It is now
the lowest minimum wage in Canada. Labour Minister Iain Black announced that
he has asked senior ministry staff to meet with key business and labour stakeholders
to discuss employment standards, including minimum wage. (...) A myth advanced
by critics of a higher minimum wage is that it kills entry level jobs for young
people...
Source:
StrategicThoughts.com
Related link:
Labour
Ministry to Gather Input on Employment Standards
November 25, 2010
VICTORIA — Labour Minister Iain Black today announced that he has asked
senior ministry staff to meet with key business and labour stakeholders to discuss
employment standards, including minimum wage. (...) Black said staff will have
focused discussions with organizations that represent the interests of employees
and employers, as well as independent experts, over the next two to three months.
Source:
Ministry of Labour
-----------
Related links from the
Progressive Economics
Forum Blog:
The Economics of
the Minimum Wage
By Andrew Jackson
January 27, 2007
Revisiting the minimum
wage disemployment effects
By Iglika Ivanova
August 6, 2008
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Going for gold on minimum wages
[Expired link]
By Marjorie Griffin Cohen and Iglika Ivanova
January 20, 2010
As we prepare to cheer for our athletes during the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic
Games, it's worth remembering the fields in which B.C. isn't going for the gold.
Ensuring that work is a guaranteed way out of poverty, for example. It's a little-known
fact, but "the best place on Earth" is now home of the lowest minimum
wages in Canada. Our minimum wage has been frozen at $8 per hour (and an embarrassingly
low $6 for the first 500 hours of work) since 2001, and there is little indication
that this is about to change any time soon.
Source:
Vancouver Sun
[ more Vancouver Sun articles on the minimum wage ]
How
does that compare
with other Canadian jurisdictions?
Current
And Forthcoming Minimum Hourly Wage Rates For Adult Workers in Canada
(this
is the BEST resource for info on current and upcoming minimum wage levels by province/territory)
Minimum
Hourly Wages for Canadian Adult Workers since 1965
This information
is presented in five files - one for each decade.
The link above takes you
to the latest decade (2005 to 2014);
click the date links at the top of the
page for pages for earlier decades.
NOTE: In addition to Ontario, several other
jurisdictions have either recently increased their minimum wage level or will
be doing so in the coming months.
Click the link above to see who changed when...
Source:
Minimum
Wage Database
[ Employment
Standards Legislation in Canada ]
[ Labour
Program, Human Resources and Social Development Canada ]
- Go to the Non-Governmental Sites in British Columbia (D-W) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/bcbkmrk3.htm
|
|
New Brunswick
N.B.
to raise minimum wage to $10
January 5, 2010
New Brunswick is sticking
with its plan to raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour over the next 20 months
— with one of the increases coming in the middle of the government's September
re-election campaign. But Labour Minister Donald Arseneault said the minimum wage
is not about politics. "To bring our minimum wage to the Atlantic average
by September 2011 is a priority issue for our province if we are going to reduce
the level of poverty in our province," Arseneault said Tuesday. About four
per cent of New Brunswick workers earn the minimum wage.
The wage will rise
in four steps:
* April 1, 2010: an increase of 25 cents to $8.50 per hour.
* Sept. 1, 2010, an increase of 50 cents to $9 per hour.
* April 1, 2011:
an increase of 50 cents to $9.50 per hour.
* Sept. 1, 2011: an increase of
50 cents to $10 per hour.
Source:
CBC New
Brunswick
______________________________
How
does that compare
with other Canadian jurisdictions?
Current
And Forthcoming Minimum Hourly Wage Rates For Adult Workers in Canada
(this
is the BEST resource for info on current and upcoming minimum wage levels by province/territory)
Minimum
Hourly Wages for Canadian Adult Workers since 1965
This information
is broken up into five files - one for each decade.
The link above takes you
to the latest decade (2005 to 2014); click the date links at the top of the page
for pages for earlier decades.
NOTE: Several other
jurisdictions have either recently increased their minimum wage level or will
be doing so in the coming months.
Highlights:
* Newfoundland and Labrador
increased its minimum wage from $9.00 to $9.50 as of January 1.
* Nova Scotia
will increase its minimum wage twice this year - in April and October. The current
level is $8.60, increasing to $9.65 as of October.
* Ontario's minimum wage,
currently $9.50, will increase to $10.25 at the end of March.
* Since 2007,
Yukon increases its minimum wage each April to match increase in the Consumer
Price Index for the City of Whitehorse.
For more information, see Minimum
Hourly Wages, 2005-2014 (this is the same link as above)
Source:
Minimum
Wage Database
[ Employment
Standards Legislation in Canada ]
[ Labour
Program, Human Resources and Social Development Canada ]
- Go to the New Brunswick Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/nbkmrk.htm
British Columbia
No time like now to raise B.C.’s minimum wage
[Expired link]
December 16, 2009
In times of such financial uncertainty very few people are asking for raises.
Among those people are Canada’s lowest paid workers – those making
under $10 an hour. Since November 2001, the Campbell government has frozen the
$8 minimum and the “loophole” training wage of $6 was introduced in
2002. British Columbia holds the record for the lowest minimum wage, lowest
training wage and the longest time since the minimum wage has been updated.
Source:
Smithers Interior News
__________________
Related
link from the
BC Federation of Labour:
From
best to last--young workers call frozen minimum
wage an embarrassment as BC
set to claim last place
August
31, 2009
Victoria-Tomorrow British Columbia will become the lowest minimum
wage province in all of Canada as New Brunswick raises its minimum wage to $8.25.
A group of young workers gathered in front of the provincial legislature called
BC's minimum wage freeze an embarrassment.
Source:
British
Columbia
Federation of Labour
---
Related article:
B.C.
about to have lowest minimum wage in Canada
August 31, 2009
VICTORIA — The B.C. Federation of Labour is painting British Columbia as
an embarrassment as the province is on the eve of having the lowest minimum
wage in Canada. The federation said when New Brunswick raises its minimum wage
to $8.25, B.C. will join Prince Edward Island as the only province in Canada
still holding to an $8 minimum.
Source:
Canada.com
- Go to the Non-Governmental Sites in British Columbia (A-C) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/bcbkmrk2.htm
What's New from The Daily [Statistics Canada]:
Minimum
wage
* Full article: HTML
| PDF
Abstract:
Most minimum-wage workers are women and young. The incidence of working for
minimum wage declines sharply with age before rising slightly among those 55 and
older. The latter could reflect some of the low-wage occupations in which a number
of working seniors tend to be concentrated. This fact-sheet also contains information
on other characteristics of minimum-wage workers.
Source:
Perspectives
on Labour and Income, January 2009 issue
January
23, 2009
ONTARIO
From the Ontario Ministry of Labour:
Ontario's
Minimum Wage Increases 2007 to 2010
- two more increases to get it up to $10.25 per hour by March 31, 2010
Minimum
wage scare
Editorial
April 1, 2008
Some social activists are calling it "recession spook" – the
talk of a looming economic downturn and the subsequent need to rein in the province's
anti-poverty agenda. In that vein, some economists have warned that yesterday's
75-cent increase in the minimum wage to $8.75 an hour will lead to job losses.
But the evidence for that is inconclusive, at best.
Source:
The Toronto Star
|
|
From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Minimum
wage (International)
This resource is worth viewing --- it contains
information on minimum wages in 17 countries (including Canada), along with some
objective information on the debate over consequences of minimum wage laws, costs
and benefits of minimum wage legislation, recent trends in the U.S., policy alternatives
to the minimum wage and much more.
TIP:
See "References" and "External Links" (at the bottom of the
table of contents) for
links to dozens and dozens of free online resources!
WorkRights.Ca
WorkRights
gives you a chance to access the latest information on the labour codes to your
province, and to compare practices in your region with those of other provinces
and territories in Canada.
HINT: for info on Canadian minimum wages, click
on "Getting Paid" in the left margin of the page, then on "minimum
wages"
Does a higher minimum wage mean fewer jobs?
The
Economics of the Minimum Wage
February 5, 2007
"(...) Predictably, the growing momentum for a higher minimum wage has
generated cries from business and employer-friendly governments that such a
move is an “inefficient” way of fighting poverty, and will come at
the cost of jobs. (...) With respect to the job loss argument, individual studies
by economists can be and are endlessly cited on one side or other of this endless
debate. However, the consensus of even the impeccably orthodox and mainstream
economists at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
is now that minimum wages set at “reasonable” levels do not have significant
negative impacts on the employment of so-called lower-skilled adults
Source:
Canadian
Labour Congress
Raise
the Minimum Wage
April 17, 2007
Some things are as reliable as Pavlov's
dog. The NDP issued a news release calling for the minimum wage to be increased
to $10 an hour and the salivating dogs, in this case the BC Chamber of Commerce
and Retail BC, promptly countered with criticism of the idea. Retail BC argued
that most businesses already pay more than the minimum wage. By contrast, the
Chamber's release argued that an increase would impose an increase in "labour
costs of over $450 million" on small businesses.
Source:
David Schreck, StrategicThoughts.com
Set
minimum wages above poverty line: Study
Press Release
March
26, 2007
TORONTO – Not a single province in Canada pays a minimum wage
that lifts working Canadians out of poverty, concludes a study by the Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives. Bringing Minimum Wages Above the Poverty Line
shows that provincial governments have allowed the value of minimum wages to be
eaten away by inflation for too long. Since 1990, their real dollar value has
flatlined or increased only slightly in every Canadian province.
Bringing
Minimum Wages Above the Poverty Line (PDF file - 877K, 56 pages)
March
2007
By Stuart Murray and Hugh Mackenzie
Summary
(PDF file - 248K, 6 pages)
Raising
the Minimum Wage in Ontario (PDF file - 167K, 3 pages)
February
2007
By Hugh Mackenzie
Complete report
"(...) Ontario’s minimum
wage used to be more in line with the province’s industrial wage. In fact,
the minimum wage in Ontario was as high as $9.97 in 1976 (adjusted to 2007 dollars,
based on the Toronto area consumer price index)."
Minimum Wage Fact Sheets (PDF file - 958K, 8 pages)
Source:
Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives
A
family consumed by long hours, low pay
January 20, 2007
Rita
Daly
"You have to admire people like Sam Thuraisamy. For the last 14 years
he has delivered tens of thousands of pizzas across the city and says he has only
himself to blame for a lifetime of long hours and dismally low pay."
Re.
the upcoming Ontario minimum wage increase
See also:
[Minimum
Wage Review] Boards set wage in six provinces
January 20, 2007
Source:
The
Toronto Star
What's
New from the Council for Employment,
Income and Social Cohesion - Paris
Conseil
de l'emploi, des revenus et de la cohésion sociale - CERC[version
française]
.
The minimum wage and labour market flexibility (PDF file
- 250K, 4 pages) N. Elgrably, Institut Economique
de Montréal, IEDM, Montréal, Les notes économiques,
December 2006
Geographical area : Canada
Ontario
Minimum
Wage - Frequently-Asked Questions
Source:
WorkSmartOntario
"...
the official website of the Ontario Ministry of Labour
for young workers and
new workers."
WorkRights.Ca
WorkRights
gives you a chance to access the latest information on the labour codes to your
province, and to compare practices in your region with those of other provinces
and territories in Canada.
HINT: for info on Canadian minimum wages, click
on "Getting Paid" in the left margin of the page, then on "minimum
wages"
Google Web Search Results:
"Ontario,
minimum wage"
Google News Search Results:
"Ontario,
minimum wage"
Google Blog Search Results
"Ontario,
minimum wage"
Source:
Google.ca
The U.S. and minimum
wage
Now that the Democrats have regained power in the U.S. Congress, they're planning
quick action
on legislative priorities that include boosting both the minimum wage
and stem cell research.
(The link takes you to a Google.ca search results for "U.S., minimum wage")
|
|
Thirty
Years of Dwindling Minimum Wages in Canada
Nov
6, 2006
The campaign for living wages has gathered momentum with bills sponsored
by NDP members in both the federal Parliament and the Ontario legislature to increase
the minimum wage to $10/hour. The just-released report on Federal Labour Standards
also strongly recommended that the federal minimum wage be reintroduced at a level
that would allow full-time workers to live above the poverty line. Federal and
provincial politicians claim that we can’t afford it. But as Commissioner
Harry Arthurs stated in this report, "This is an issue of fundamental decency
that no modern, prosperous country like Canada can ignore." The real value
of the minimum wage everywhere in Canada is now not just far below the poverty
line, but also far below what it was thirty years ago, as the following CUPE Economic
Brief shows. And contrary to what some politicians and low wage employers claim,
increasing the minimum wage tends to have few negative economic impacts and is
often positive. We can afford it and we should do it.
Complete report:
Thirty
Years of Dwindling Minimum Wages in Canada (PDF file - 147K, 2 pages)
November
2006
Source:
Canadian Union of Public Employees
|
|
From the
Caledon Institute of Social Policy:
Ontario’s
Shrinking Minimum Wage (PDF file - 20K, 3 pages)
February 2003
"Ontario has seen a steady decline in the value of its minimum wage because
the rate has been frozen at $6.85 for eight long years."
Source:
Caledon Institute of Social Policy
FastFacts:
Manitoba's Minimum Wage? Be Realistic! - PDF file - 32K, 2 pages)
August
4, 2005
"A job at $10.00 per hour, with benefits and opportunities for
advancement, would draw many into the labour force. Such jobs provide dignity
and respect. A wage of $7.25 does not. Nor does it make economic sense."
Source:
Manitoba
Office Publications
[ Manitoba
Office ]
[ Canadian Centre
for Policy Alternatives ]
Income
Redistribution in Canada: Minimum Wages versus Other Policy Instruments
Nicole M. Fortin and Thomas Lemieux
Revised December 1998
Complete report
(PDF file - 56 pages, 419K)
Source : Centre
for Research on Economic and Social Policy (University of British Columbia)
Annual Minimum Wage Income* by Province, 1976 and 1995
(constant 1995$)
|
|
|
|
Notes: | |
| Newfoundland |
|
|
|
* Assumes earners were employed 40 hours
per week, 52 weeks of the year. In
1995 and 1996, the minimum wage was increased in Ontario, Manitoba and British
Columbia.These increases are reflected in the table. Source:
Appendix B of Benefiting
Canada's Children: Perspectives on Gender and Social Responsibility Christa
Freiler and Judy Cerny Child
Poverty Action Group March
1998
|
| Prince
Edward Island |
|
|
| |
|
Nova Scotia |
|
|
| |
|
New Brunswick |
|
|
| |
|
Quebec |
|
|
| |
|
Ontario |
|
|
| |
|
Manitoba |
|
|
| |
|
Saskatchewan |
|
|
| |
|
Alberta |
|
|
| |
|
British Columbia | | | |
Minimum-wage
hikes must be routine -
Ontario
Toronto
Star Editorial
January 5, 2005
"People who earn the minimum wage in
Ontario should not be the only ones celebrating the raise of 30 cents per hour
that takes effect Feb. 1. The ripple effect through the local economy will likely
be greater than from similar increases in any other job class. Certainly, minimum-wage
earners have something to cheer. The new general rate of $7.45 still isn't a princely
sum anywhere in Ontario in 2005, but it's a hike of more than four per cent on
top of a similar 30-cent boost last year. It beats what happened in the nine years
prior to 2004, when the rate stayed static."
Source:
The
Toronto Star
NOTE : the general minimum wage in Ontario will rise twice
again to reach $8 per hour in 2007.
| .International Minimum Wage Links (in reverse chronological order) |
Hong Kong passes first-ever minimum wage law
Rate could be at least $3 (U.S.) an hour in rare departure from financial hub's
free-market philosophy
July 17, 2010
Hong Kong passed its first-ever minimum-wage law Saturday, a rare departure
from the wealthy Chinese financial hub's free-market philosophy. The move was
hailed by union workers as a victory for the territory's underpaid working class.No
rate has yet been set, but it appears employers will be required to pay at least
$3 (U.S.) an hour — well short of the rates in the West and low for one
of the most expensive cities in the world. Thousands
of foreign live-in domestic workers also will be excluded from the deal. But
legislator and union organizer Lee Cheuk-yan said it was symbolic, showing that
the city was saying “goodbye to shameful wages and embraced social justice
for workers."
Source:
The Globe and Mail
The
Past, Present, and Future of Minimum Wage
By Stan Raybern
December 31, 2009
The U.S.federal minimum wage was established at $.25 per hour in 1938 and has
increased over the years, in theory, to keep up with inflation, cost of living,
and many other factors. Although the federal minimum wage is currently set at
$7.25, each individual state ultimately has the ability to set their own minimum
wage. Residents of Kansas are keenly aware of this fact, where the state minimum
wage is set at an astonishing $2.65. Check out where your state stands against
the rest of the country, as well as other thought provoking facts as we take
a look at the past, present, and future of minimum wage across America
Source:
Shrinkage is Good (Blog)
A
minimum income standard for Britain in 2009 (PDF - 401K, 34 pages)
By D. Hirsch, A. Davis and N. Smith
April 2009
Source:
Joseph Rowntree Foundation, London
Fiscal
effects of minimum wages : An analysis for Germany (PDF - 1MB, 32
pages)
November 2008
By T. K Bauer and alii,
RWI,
Essen
Minimum
wages and their alternatives : A critical assessment (PDF - 356K,
31 pages)
December 2008
BY A. Knabe and R. Schöb,
CESifo,
Munich
From the (U.S.) Employment Policies Institute:
Minimum
Wages and Poverty:
Will the Obama Proposal Help the Working Poor?
(PDF - 3.1MB, 28 pages)
September 2008
Highlights
- HTML
As this year’s economic crisis hit everyone’s pocketbooks,
some advocates called for another increase in the federal minimum wage (from the
current $6.55 to $9.50) . (...) Economists at American University and Cornell
University conclude this high minimum wage would fail to improve our nation’s
poverty rate because (1) over 60 percent of the benefits would go to families
with incomes more than 2 times the federal poverty level, and (2) the job loss
suffered by the lowest skilled employees could range from 450,000 to 4 million.
The study also shows that the last minimum wage hike also fell short of achieving
any poverty reductions, again because of poor target efficiency and resulting
job loss.
Source:
Employment
Policies Institute (EPI)
---------------------------------------------------------------
<Begin reality check.>
Lies, Damn Lies and The Internet
I enthusiastically encourage open dialogue
between supporters of differing viewpoints.
What I object to is the misrepresentation
of mission and objectives and the wilful omission of important contextual information,
such as the fact that the Big Daddy at EPI is a Washington lobbyist for the restaurant,
hotel, alcoholic beverage and tobacco industries, all of which stand to gain from
low minimum wage standards.
Here's
an excerpt from what SourceWatch*
has
to say about the Employment Policies Institute:
The
Employment Policies Institute (EPI) is one of several front groups created by
Berman & Co., a Washington, DC public affairs firm owned by Rick Berman,
who lobbies for the restaurant, hotel, alcoholic beverage and tobacco industries
[bolding added]. (...) EPI has has been widely quoted in news stories regarding
minimum wage issues, and although a few of those stories have correctly described
it as a "think tank financed by business," most stories fail to provide
any identification that would enable readers to identify the vested interests
behind its pronouncements. Instead, it is usually described exactly the way it
describes itself, as a "non-profit research organization dedicated to studying
public policy issues surrounding employment growth" that "focuses on
issues that affect entry-level employment." In reality, EPI's mission
is to keep the minimum wage low so Berman's clients can continue to pay their
workers as little as possible [more bolding added]. EPI also owns the internet
domain names to MinimumWage.com and LivingWage.com, a website that attempts to
portray the idea of a living wage for workers as some kind of insidious conspiracy."
Source:
[ *SourceWatch is a collaborative project of the Center for Media and Democracy to produce a directory of the people, organizations and issues shaping the public agenda. A primary purpose of SourceWatch is documenting the PR and propaganda activities of public relations firms and public relations professionals engaged in managing and manipulating public perception, opinion and policy. SourceWatch also includes profiles on think tanks, industry-funded organizations and industry-friendly experts that work to influence public opinion and public policy on behalf of corporations, governments and special interests. Over time, SourceWatch has broadened to include others involved in public debates including media outlets, journalists and government agencies." ]
CAVEAT:
The "About..." page of any website should *always* include clear statements concerning who is 'behind' the site, whether they're called sponsors, funders partners, supporters or whatever, and what the site hopes to accomplish. In the case of the EPI, there's no mention on their About Us page of the vested interests of the industries that stand most to gain from the information that EPI disseminates. To say that "EPI sponsors nonpartisan research..." is a blatant falsehood.
The Bottom Line:
Beware of websites that misrepresent themselves.
* Ask questions.
* Use SourceWatch.
</End reality check .>
If you want to read some
*credible* U.S. research
on the American minimum wage, see this site:
Minimum
Wage Issue Guide
(See esp. Minimum
wage — Facts at a glance - incl. "no evidence of job loss from previous
minimum wage increases.")
Source:
Economic
Policies Institute
The Economic Policy Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan
think tank that seeks to broaden the public debate about strategies to achieve
a prosperous and fair economy.
[ "The Employment Policies institute deliberately attempted to create confusion in the eyes of journalists and the general public by adopting a name which closely resembles the Economic Policy Institute, a much older, progressive think tank with ties to organized labor." - SourceWatch ]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National
minimum wage : report 2008 (PDF file - 1.5MB, 209 pages)
March
2008
Low Pay Commission, London
Geographical
area : United Kingdom
Minimum
wage - updated October 29, 2007
- links (in
the right-hand margin) to 300 documents (statistics, working papers, reports)
and websites
- incl. links to resources under the following headings:
*
Legislation and implementation * Facts
and figures * Minimum
wage and employment * Minimum
wage and wage formation * Minimum
wage and living standard * Discussion
* Recommended
websites
(includes links to Canadian resources)
Source:
Council
for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion - Paris
---------------------------------------------------------------
Minimum
wage (International)
This resource is worth viewing --- it contains
information on minimum wages in 17 countries (including Canada), along with some
objective information on the debate over consequences of minimum wage laws, costs
and benefits of minimum wage legislation, recent trends in the U.S., policy alternatives
to the minimum wage and much more.
TIP:
See "References" and "External Links" (at the bottom of the
table of contents) for
links to dozens and dozens of free online resources!
Source:
Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia
---------------------------------------------------------------
Minimum
wage (U.S.)
- links to over 600 news articles about minimum
wage,
including commentary and archival articles published in The
New York Times.
The
impact of minimum wage increases on single mothers
- U.S. (PDF file - 604K, 31 pages)
By J. J. Sabia
September 2007
"(...)Taken
together, the 1990s and early 2000s saw important economic changes for single
mothers. Employment rates, work hours, and wage income rose, while poverty rates
and welfare use declined. The evidence presented in this study suggests that while
pro-work welfare reforms, a growing macro-economy, and expansions in the Earned
Income Tax Credit program may have each played a role in these positive economic
trends, that minimum wage increases reduced less-educated single mothers’
employment, hours worked, and wage income, while failing to alleviate poverty.
The results of this study should serve as a caution to policymakers who view minimum
wage hikes as a way to help single mothers."
Source:
Employment
Policies Institute - U.S.
Minimum
Wage History, 1938-2008- from Oregon
State University
- incl. four charts + some very interesting links at the
bottom of the page to many useful resources, e.g.,
wealth and poverty links
. Characteristics of minimum wage workers : 2006 - U.S., (PDF file - 62K, 16 pages) Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, February 2007.
. The impact of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 and state minimum wage increases on US workers by race and ethnicity (PDF file - 1.28MB, 25 pages) R. J. Harrison, Y. Li and C. Gouveia, The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Washington, (2007)
National Minimum Wage (PDF file - 4.2MB, 389 pages)March 2007,Low Pay Commission, London.
Found in:
CERC
Bulletin N°123, March 19, 2007
[ Council
for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion - Paris ]
The
Bare Minimum
Op-Ed by Sarah Hamersma
March
8, 2007
BOTH the House of Representatives and the Senate have recently passed
bills raising the minimum wage. The Senate bill includes tax breaks for businesses,
based on the following logic: While a minimum wage increase is popular, the resulting
higher labor costs will translate into fewer jobs, more expensive products or
both. The solution, the senators concluded, was to subsidize companies that hire
disadvantaged workers, in order to reimburse them for these higher wage costs.
Does this reasoning hold up? A look at one of the key pieces of this business
tax package — the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which has been in place since
1996 and would be extended for five years under the proposal — suggests otherwise.
Source:
Minimum
wage (U.S.)
- links to over 600 news articles about minimum
wage, including commentary and archival articles published in The
New York Times
Minimum
Wages, Minimum Labour Costs and the Tax Treatment of Low-wage Employment
(PDF file - 256K, 24 pages)
January 16, 2007
By Herwig Immervoll
International
comparisons of minimum-wage levels have largely focused on the gross value of
minimum wages, ignoring the effects of taxation on both labour costs and the net
income of employees. This paper presents estimates of the tax burdens facing minimum-wage
workers. These are used as a basis for cross-country comparisons of the net earnings
of these workers as well as the cost of employing them. In addition, results show
the evolution of net incomes and labour costs during the 2000-2005 period and
the relative importance of minimum-wage adjustments and tax reforms in driving
these changes.
(...) Statutory minimum wages are in place in 21 OECD countries
[including Canada - text and bolding added], ranging between USD
0.7 and USD 10 per hour.
This paper is the working paper version of a chapter
to appear in the 2007 edition of Taxing Wages, an annual OECD publication.
Source:
OECD
Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers <===links to 45
more papers!
[ Directorate for Employment,
Labour and Social Affairs ]
[ Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development ]
-----------------------------------------------------------
What's
New from the Council for Employment,
Income and Social Cohesion - Paris
Conseil
de l'emploi, des revenus et de la cohésion sociale - CERC[version
française]
National
minimum wage : report 2008 (PDF file - 1.5MB, 209 pages)
March
2008
Low Pay Commission, London
Geographical
area : United Kingdom
Tax
credits, the minimum wage and inflation (PDF file - 220K, 10 pages)
E. Maag, The Urban Institute, Washington,
Policy brief, tax policy, issues and options, n° 17
January 2007
Geographical
area : United States
-----------------------------------------------------------
Does
a higher minimum wage mean fewer jobs? - Australia
August
21, 2006
The evidence doesn't support this simple equation, writes John Quiggin*.
The creation of the Fair Pay Commission as part of the government’s WorkChoices
legislation has led to a debate about the role of minimum wages for Australian
workers. Whereas the Industrial Relations Commission set award wages for most
workers, the Fair Pay Commission focuses exclusively on minimum wages and conditions.
(...) In thinking about minimum wages, it is [also] necessary to look at interactions
with the social welfare system. For those with dependent children, minimum wages
in Australia are only marginally higher, after tax, than the social welfare benefits
paid to unemployed or disabled workers. Hence, a reduction in the minimum wage
could create or intensify “poverty traps.” Advocates of substantial
reductions in minimum wages have generally favored “reform” (usually
unspecified) of the social welfare system. (...) It is important to remember that
minimum wages represent only a small part of a coherent labour market policy.
The primary focus must be on managing the tax–welfare system to achieve a
more equitable distribution of income while generating incentives to work. Minimum
wages should be set with the same goal in mind."
--------------------------------------
*Author
John Quiggin is an ARC Federation Fellow in Economics and Political Science at
the University of Queensland.
His web site is at http://www.uq.edu.au/economics/johnquiggin
and his weblog is at http://johnquiggin.com
--------------------------------------
Source:
Australian
Policy Online (APO)
With nearly 120 member centres and institutes, Australian
Policy Online offers easy access to much of the best Australian social, economic,
cultural and political research available online. APO is maintained by a network
of university centres and over 120 centres and institutes around Australia.
------------------------------------------------
Economic
Policy Institute (US) on Minimum Wage
In
a joint statement
issued on Wednesday, October 11, five Nobel Prize winners and over 650 other economists
endorsed a statement urging a raise in the minimum wage. The statement asserts
that a modest raise in the minimum wage (in the range of a $1.00 to $2.50 per
hour), with future increases indexed to protect the workers’ purchasing power,
“can significantly improve the lives of low-income workers and their families,
without the adverse effects that critics have claimed.”
- incl. links
to two EPI articles on minimum wages
Posted October 28 by:
Andrew Jackson
Relentlessly
Progressive Economics
"Commentary on Canadian economics and public
policy"
Nine
years of neglect : Federal minimum wage remains unchanged for ninth straight year,
falls to lowest level in more than half a century (PDF file - 78K,
6 pages)
(United States), J. Bernstein and I. Shapiro, Washington, August
2006.
Source:
Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities
Economic Policy Institute
House
Adopts Higher Minimum Wage, $310 Billion in Tax Cuts
July 29
"The
House voted to boost the minimum wage for the first time since 1997 in Republican-backed
legislation that also cuts $310 billion in taxes, largely by reducing a levy on
multimillion-dollar estates. The minimum wage increase, and the inclusion of $38
billion in tax cuts that many Democrats support, were described by some Republicans
as a bid to attract votes for the estate tax legislation when it reaches the Senate,
where it has been rejected twice in the last month."
Source:
Bloomberg
("
Bloomberg is the leading global provider of data, news and analytics.")
NOTE: if passed by the U.S. Senate, the House measure would boost the federal minimum wage, now at $5.15 an hour, to $7.25 by June 1, 2009. Over 80% of the US population supports a minimum wage increase, according to a CBS News/New York Times poll.
Related Link:
COMPARING THE HOUSE MINIMUM WAGE AND ESTATE
TAX PROPOSALS:
Who Benefits and By How Much?
July 28
by Joel Friedman
and Aviva Aron-Dine
http://www.cbpp.org/7-28-06tax2.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/7-28-06tax2.pdf,
2pp.
Source:
Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities (Washington)
Google News Search
Results:
"US, minimum wage"
Google
Web Search Results:
"US, minimum wage"
Source:
Google.ca
-------------------------------------------
U.S.
Minimum Wage Resources
UNHAPPY ANNIVERSARY:
Federal
Minimum Wage Remains Unchanged for Eighth Straight Year, Falls to 56-Year Low
Relative to the Average Wage
"September
1 marks eight years since the last federal minimum wage increase. In that time,
its purchasing power has fallen 17 percent. Compared to average private sector
wages, the minimum wage has sunk to its lowest point since 1949."
Unhappy
Anniversary, a new report by Jared Bernstein, senior economist at the
Economic Policy Institute and Isaac Shapiro, associate director of the Center
on Budget and Policy Priorities, examines the shrunken state of the minimum wage.
September
1, 2005
HTML version:
http://www.cbpp.org/9-1-05mw.htm
PDF
version:
http://www.cbpp.org/9-1-05mw.pdf,
5pp
Source:
Center
on Budget and Policy Priorities
Related Link:
Raising the National
Minimum Wage: Information, Opinion, Research - U.S., international
This is the personal web of Brock Haussamen, an English professor at Raritan
Valley Community College in North Branch, New Jersey. The site's purpose is
"to provide those concerned about the federal minimum wage with an organized
guide to the different sides of the issue". Professor Haussamen's position
can be found on the Indexing page of his site --- he supports indexing the minimum
wage. [So do I for Canada, applying the same logic to
Canadian minimum wages.]
- incl. links to : Basics - The Case For - The Case Against - Indexing - Research
- U. S. - Other Countries - Contact Me
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the US Dept. of Labor:
Minimum Wage Laws in the States - clickable map, current levels
Characteristics
of Minimum Wage Workers: 2004
April 5, 2005
- incl. 10 tables with characteristics of minimum wage workers in 2004 ("Employed
wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing
Federal minimum wage, 2004 annual averages: 1. by selected characteristics 2.
by census region and division 3. by State 4. by major occupation group 5. by
major industry group 6. by educational attainment 7. by age and sex 8. by marital
status, age, and sex 9. by usual hours worked per week 10. by sex (1979-2004
annual averages)
Source:
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
[ U.S. Department of Labor ]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Economic
Policy Institute (EPI)
"EPI works to strengthen democracy by providing
people with the tools to participate in the public discussion on the economy,
believing that such participation will result in economic policies that better
reflect the public interest. (...) EPI was established in 1986 to broaden the
discussion about economic policy to include the interests of low- and middle-income
workers. Today, with global competition expanding, wage inequality rising, and
the methods and nature of work changing in fundamental ways, it is as crucial
as ever that people who work for a living have a voice in the economic debate."
EPI
issue guides:
- living wage - minimum wage - offshoring - poverty and
family budgets - retirement security - social security - unemployment insurance
- welfare
Minimum
Wage - 40+ links to publications, tables, charts and other online resources
Living
Wage - 30+ links
Poverty
Measurement and Basic Family Budgets - 30+ links
No
Longer Getting By--An Increase in the Minimum Wage Is Long Overdue
May
11, 2004
EPI Briefing Paper #151
"The minimum wage is a direct and
proven method to increase the earnings of the working poor and to prevent market
forces from depressing wages to an unacceptably low level."
The
Who and Why of the Minimum Wage: Raising the wage floor is an essential part
of
a strategy to support working families (PDF file - 28K, 7 pages)
EPI
Issue Brief
August 6, 2004
By Jeff Chapman and Michael Ettlinger
States
move on minimum wage
Federal inaction forces states to raise wage floor to
protect low-wage workers
June 11, 2003 - Issue Brief #195
"The
president and Congress are poised to beat an embarrassing record currently held
by their predecessors of the 1980s—eight years without raising the minimum
wage. Each year the federal government fails to act, minimum wage workers pay
the price, as the rising cost of living erodes the value of their paycheck."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the Employment Policies Institute *:
Wage
Growth Among Minimum Wage Workers (PDF file - 442K, 25 pages)
June
2004
This study shows "that wage growth among minimum wage employees is
actually quite robust. Using over two decades of Current Population Survey (CPS)
data, these authors dispel the notion that minimum wage employees are dependent
on government policies to increase their wages. The authors also examine the factors
that lead to wage growth and find that higher education and job training along
with a strong labor market are significant contributing factors."
Helping
low-wage Americans : Wage-based tax credits.
A new solution to an age-old
problem (PDF file - 570K, 30 pages)
May 2004
Washington
Summary
(below) by CERC (Bulletin
N°52)
"(...) The near-universal conclusion of decades of
economic research is that minimum wage increases diminish total employment and
destroy opportunities for entry-level employees. Moreover, most of the benefits
associated with minimum wage hikes accrue to non-poor families. The EITC, in contrast,
increases poor Americans’ income and work-effort, without destroying job
opportunities.(...)"
[NOTE: for the complete summary of the wage-based
tax credits paper, click the Bulletin N°52 link]
More on the Minimum Wage from the Employment Policies Institute
* Here's
an excerpt from what SourceWatch*
has to say about the Employment Policies Institute: [ *SourceWatch is a collaborative project of the Center for Media and Democracy to produce a directory of the people, organizations and issues shaping the public agenda. A primary purpose of SourceWatch is documenting the PR and propaganda activities of public relations firms and public relations professionals engaged in managing and manipulating public perception, opinion and policy. SourceWatch also includes profiles on think tanks, industry-funded organizations and industry-friendly experts that work to influence public opinion and public policy on behalf of corporations, governments and special interests. Over time, SourceWatch has broadened to include others involved in public debates including media outlets, journalists and government agencies." ] CAVEAT: The Bottom Line: Beware of websites that misrepresent
themselves. |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minimum
wages, labor market institutions and youth employment : a cross-national analysis
(PDF file - 1100K, 38 pages)
June 2003
Washington
Finance and economics
discussion series, n° 2003-23
"We estimate
the employment effects of changes in national minimum wages using a pooled cross-section
time-series data set comprising 17 OECD countries for the period 1975-2000, focusing
on the impact of cross-country differences in minimum wage systems and in other
labor market institutions and policies that may either offset or amplify the effects
of minimum wages."
- Canada is included among the 17 countries studied.
Source
: Federal Reserve Board
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
Effects of Higher Minimum Wages on Welfare Recipiency: Another Look -
U.S.
Mark D. Turner, Alena Bicakova
February 2003
"This
paper analyzes the effect of an increase in the minimum wage on welfare participation.
(...) Consistent with some earlier research, we found that higher minimum wages
reduce welfare spell lengths. In contrast to our initial hypothesis, we found
consistent empirical evidence that long-term welfare recipients were more likely
to leave the welfare following a minimum wage increase than otherwise similar
short-term recipients."
Download
full paper (PDF file - 90K, 25 pages)
Source : Joint Center for Policy Research
(Illinois)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Real
Value of the federal minimum wage in the U.S., 1956-2003
"The
real value of today's minimum wage is 30% below its peak in 1968, and 24% below
its level in 1979"
Source:
Step
up, not out - The case for raising the federal minimum wage for workers in every
state
February 7, 2001 - Issue Brief #149
Economic
Policy Institute
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minimum
Wage
- from the Almanac of Policy Issues
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
The
First Congress of the U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network: Fundamental Insecurity
or Basic Income Guarantee?
March 8-9, 2002, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York
- incl.links to 35 papers on guaranteed annual income ("basic income")
presented at this Congress
Source:
U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network (USBIG)
Related links:
Go to the Guaranteed Annual Income Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/gai.htm
---
Advocates for Self-Government - the website of the American Libertarianism movement. This organization would privatize welfare and repeal all permits, licensing, zoning and labor laws because "they all stop people who want to work, especially minorities. (...) Private charity is more compassionate and delivers the goods better than the government welfare plantation."
International
Minimum Wage Resources
United States
Minimum Wage Laws in the States - revised annualy - map of the U.S. ---click on any state or jurisdiction to find out about applicable minimum wage laws. Source: United States Department of Labour --- U.S.
Minimum Wage Legislation --- List of U.S. minimum wages - from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia --- U.S.
Minimum wage history, 1938-2008 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
United Kingdom
The Poverty Site
THE UK site for statistics on poverty and
social exclusion
- incl. indicators for ther UK, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, rural England
and the European Union
Source:
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The
big bite ! Why it’s time for the minimum wage to really work,
(PDF - 518K, 46 pages)
Submission to the Low Pay Commission by
Unison and YMCA England, London,
November 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Fighting
"low equilibria" by doubling the minimum wage ? Hungary’s experiment
(PDF file, 44 pages)
December 2003
Institute
for the Study of Labor, Bonn
"Summary : In
January 2001 the Hungarian government increased the minimum wage from Ft 25,500
to Ft 40,000. One year later the wage floor rose further to Ft 50,000. The paper
looks at the short-run impact of the first hike on small-firm employment and flows
between employment and unemployment. It finds that the hike significantly increased
labor costs and reduced employment in the small firm sector; and adversely affected
the job retention and job finding probabilities of low-wage workers. While the
conditions for a positive employment effect were mostly met in depressed regions
spatial inequalities were amplified rather than reduced."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Minimum
Wage - from the Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion (Paris)
- this site offers a wealth of information about minimum wages in France, Europe,
OECD countries (Canada and U.S. included!)
[Click the links in the right-hand margin for links to relevant studies]
- extensive collection of information organized under the following headings:
Legislation and implementation - Facts and figures - Minimum wage and employment
- Minimum wage and wage formation - Minimum wage and living standard - Discussion
Recommended
Websites - links to minimum wage sites and content from: FRANCE - GERMANY
- BELGIUM - SPAIN - IRELAND - THE NETHERLANDS - UNITED KINGDOM - UNITED STATES
- CANADA - INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS
Source:
Council for Employment, Income
and Social Cohesion
Conseil de l'emploi, des revenus
et de la cohésion sociale [version française]
"The Council is to contribute to the knowledge on income, social inequalities
and links between employment, income and social cohesion. It is also up to the
Cerc to draw up appraisals about social inequalities and redistribution mechanisms
as well as to draw the government's attention and the public opinion to desirable
changes and evolutions. The Cerc is to publish periodically a report on changes
concerning employment, income and social cohesion, as well as specific reports
dealing with issues within its field of expertise. These specific reports are
initiated by the Council itself or at the request of the Prime minister."
| BACK TO CANADIAN SOCIAL RESEARCH LINKS HOME PAGE | RETOUR À LA PAGE D'ACCUEIL - SITES DE RECHERCHE SOCIALE AU CANADA |
| TIP:
How to Search for a Word or Expression on a Single Web Page Open any web page in your browser, then hold down the Control ("Ctrl") key on your keyboard and type the letter F to open a "Find" window. Type or paste in a key word or expression and hit Enter - your browser will go directly to the first occurrence of that word (or those exact words, as the case may be). To continue searching using the same keyword(s) throughout the rest of the page, keep clicking on the FIND NEXT button. Try it. It's a great time-saver! |
E-MAIL:
gilseg@rogers.com