The minimum wage is the minimum amount of banknotes that an employer pays to a worker in a certain country for the working time period established by the relevant legislation of that country (hour, day, week, month). Consider the minimum wage in the world for different countries.
general information
The minimum wage in the world should ideally be sufficient to satisfy the basic human needs in material, social and cultural terms. When establishing it, it is also taken into account that the worker has a family and children to whom he must give an education. Currently, many countries around the world are debating about the minimum wage.
As a rule, the minimum wage in the countries of the world is set either hourly or per month in the currency of this country, for example, the employer does not have the right to pay less than $ 7.06 per hour in the UK. The size of this salary varies by country.
Typically, each year, the government issues a decree on raising the minimum wage. This is due to existing inflation around the world, which "eats up" the purchasing power of money.
Background
For the first time, the minimum wage in the world was established in the Australian state of Victoria in 1890 as a result of strikes by workers who put forward the requirement to establish an official minimum wage for work performed.
Since that time, various collectives and groups of workers, following the example of the Australians, began to seek the introduction of a minimum wage in their countries. As a result, today almost all over the world the legislation of the countries regulates this issue.
The idea of establishing an official minimum wage in different countries of the world is that if a person works, then he should receive enough money so that he has enough for food, clothing, travel and accommodation for his family, as well as education for his children. The establishment of such a salary, together with the regulation of the length of the working day and working week, was included in the number of laws of the labor code of the corresponding country. These measures are designed to improve the lives of working families and strengthen the middle class as an important layer between the rich and the poor.
The positive effect of introducing a minimum wage
There are various economic theories that have examined the issue of the effect of the officially established minimum wage in the world by country on the economic development of the respective country. Among the positive effects, the following are noted:
- Reduction in the number of jobs for which they pay badly and unfairly and which can be considered exploitative.
- Reducing the dependence of many people on various kinds of benefits and social benefits, which, in turn, creates an opportunity to reduce taxes for the country's population.
- Reducing the number of workers involved in low-skilled manual labor, and increasing the efficiency of returns on highly skilled labor.
Negative economic effect
However, there are some negative aspects associated with the introduction of the minimum wage. These include the following:
- an increase in the number of unemployed among those who receive the minimum wage;
- average salaries are getting lower;
- an increase in the number of people who work informally;
- price increases for many products and services.
In addition, the number of litigations related to various issues of the minimum wage is increasing.
The continent of australia
Australia has the highest minimum wage in the world. So, on July 1, 2016, it was set at 17.70 Australian dollars per hour, which, with a 38-hour week of work, yields 2, 200 US dollars or 2, 057 euros per month.
In this country, the method of payment is also different, since every employer in a private company pays wages on Thursdays, and at a state-owned enterprise they pay every two weeks. In addition, each worker has the right to full payment of 6 days due to illness per year, as well as 4-week paid leave.
In Australia, which ranks first in the ranking of minimum wages in the world, it is customary to work 40 hours a week, instead of the minimum 38 hours. In addition to the usual system: 5 working days and 2 days off, the system is also popular in this country: 4 days with 12 days of work and 4 days of days off.
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, an Australian who has two children can work only 6 hours a week to live above the poverty line, because he will receive many other benefits from his government.
European countries
Considering the issue of minimum wages in the world, it should first be said about Europe. In countries in this part of the world, the minimum wage varies significantly. Of the 28 countries of the European Union, only 22 countries provide for minimum wages by law. The following countries are an exception:
- Austria;
- Cyprus;
- Denmark;
- Finland;
- Italy;
- Sweden.
The largest minimum wage among the EU countries in Luxembourg, it is 1998.59 euros per month according to data for 2017. The smallest minimum wage in Bulgaria, only 235.20 euros.
In the economic leader of the European Union - Germany - in 2013 the minimum wage was set at 8.5 euros per hour, in 2017 this figure was 8.84 euros per hour, which corresponds to 1498 euros per month for a working week of 39.1 hours.
In France for 2017, it was established that the minimum payment for work cannot be less than 9.76 euros per hour, which, with a 35-hour work week, corresponds to 1480.27 euros per month. In the UK, as of April 1, 2017, this value is set at £ 7.50 per hour for workers over 25 years of age, which corresponds to £ 1238.25 per month for a month at 38.1 working hours.
As for European countries such as Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, the concept of the minimum wage in the world for countries is not applicable to them, since the state does not regulate this issue in them, and the workers and employers decide what salary is fair to pay for work in each sector of the economy.
United States of America
You can not consider the issue of minimum wages in the world by country and say nothing about the country with one of the most powerful economies in the world - the United States. The laws of this North American state establish the following remuneration for work:
- minimum wage;
- salary for extra hours of labor;
- pay for young people who have full or part-time jobs.
Moreover, the legislation applies to both state and private firms.
In 2013, the minimum wage was set at $ 7.25 per hour, but each state has the right to independently establish this figure.
The remuneration for additional hours of work should not be less than 1.5 salaries in regular time, and is paid only if the person worked more than 40 hours a week.
African continent and Asia
It is in Africa and a number of Asian countries that the countries with the lowest salaries in the world are located. Such countries include Togo, Chad, Gabon, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Uganda, Ghana in Africa and Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia and some others in Asia.
Morocco is the country on the African continent that has the largest minimum wage among African countries, following South Africa. In Morocco, its value for 2012 was 219.92 euros.
In Asia, the leader in terms of minimum wage is Japan. In the Land of the Rising Sun since October 2016, this value is set at 932 yen per hour. In addition, legislation regulates the issues of additional processing fees, as well as bonuses for working on holidays. For 2016, the annual minimum wage of the Japanese amounted to 41, 500 US dollars. However, some cities in Japan pay more than others. So, a greater reward can be obtained for work in Tokyo, where they pay 9 US dollars per hour.
