News - National minimum wage to rise to £5.80 in October

[HEXUS]

The government has announced that the national minimum wage will rise by 7p an hour.

Read more.

[format]

I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

[0iD]

Woo...BIG money!

[kalniel]

If inflation is negative, then it's a bigger rise than it looks no?

[Lee H]

7p an hour.... wahooo.

It's practically peanuts when you consider the rising costs of food-stuff and other essential things.

[bsodmike]

Can I go supersize with that?

[cheesemp]

Its better than a wage cut (Just been threatened with one)....

[jackvdbuk]

and how about none of this 18-21 get paid less rubbish, its a joke £4.83!

[UnixNerd]

If inflation is negative, then it's a bigger rise than it looks no?

If only it were that simple. The reason the RPI figure is negative is that house prices, mortgage repayments amd mortgage insurance payments are all significantly down. However if you take those statistics out then the CPI or consumer price index (what we pay for food etc) is actually running at just under 3% so in fact those on the minimum wage were just subjected to a wage cut as a significant proportion are likely not to be owners of their own property

Info from the office of National Statistics.

Unfortunatley I can't link it but google takes you straight to the most recent figures

Those people who are on a decent wage, own their own property and have a mortgate are currently less effected by the economic woes of the country and will remain so unless the downturn significantly worsens leading to wide spread layoffs, redundancies and short time working.

[kalniel]

If only it were that simple. The reason the RPI figure is negative is that house prices, mortgage repayments amd mortgage insurance payments are all significantly down. However if you take those statistics out then the CPI or consumer price index (what we pay for food etc) is actually running at just under 3% so in fact those on the minimum wage were just subjected to a wage cut as a significant proportion are likely not to be owners of their own property

Info from the office of National Statistics.

Yup I know that, but the point is RPI is used as the basis for wage settlements, so by most accounts anything to do with wages should be going down at the moment, not up.

[roorooroo]

That's great for me..let me see..that's me better off 2.80 a week..shame the price of rent, bread, milk, necessities etc has gone up so much too.

[Workaholic]

Should it be 2009 or 2010?

[bull3t4u]

Lol I can buy a new car for that haha

[TheAnimus]

The idea that the government should set a minum wage for the whole of the UK is just plain stupid, and hurts the poorest skilled people living in the non cheap areas.

The question is what is the effect of a minimum wage change on the economy? All too often people seam to have an almost religious like beleief in Keynesian economics based on desires rather than proven events. Either way its almost impossible to say for sure the effects of such a measure.

As such, whats the point in changing this minimum wage? You have to have a specail kind of arrogance to belive YOU are the one who should control it. Also you have to question the need. Given the wide availability of state benefits, there is already a natural effect because people don't *have* to work, it becomes worthless for them to bother enless a certain amount is reached.

If the government is going to decree that childcare must have no more than a 1 to 3 ratio for some ages, again they are dictating the fact that there will be some "have nots" a minimum wage is as such irrellivent, because its measure like that which keep people trapped on low salaries.....

God i hate governments interfering!