[WOT] Min wage is not the solution
Competition amongst employees is usually cited as an argument against min wage.
1. A
student who is having a vacation break is looking for a part time job to supplement his living expenses and gain work experience.
He is perfectly willing to accept less than the min wage because he knows he has no qualifications or experience.
2. A
pregnant woman or
an elderly is looking for work.
Because of their situation, these ppl are willing to accept wages less than min wage because they wish to be given less demanding chores.
3. If the min wage is set too low, there's no point in having a min wage.
Let's say the min wage is set at $6 per hour. Even if the ppl in the above examples were willing to accept $5 per hour, no company can hire these ppl due to min wage law.
This also applies to
ex-convicts,
ppl with disabilities etc
4. If the min wage is set too high, it becomes the max wage (for example $10 per hour).
Companies looking to hire a cleaner will only accept the most productive and hardworking person with good English, personality etc etc.
Anybody short of that will not be considered.
5. If the purpose of min wage is to ensure a min standard of living for everyone, it should not discriminate between sectors/industries like the current Progressive Wage Model.
https://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/progressive-wage-model/what-is-pwm
At the moment, the min wages are
- Cleaners - $1,236
- Security Officer - $1,250
- Landscape Worker - $1,450
6. Many low wage job positions are compensated by the corresponding work done instead of hourly/monthly rate. For example,
- delivery drivers paid according to number of successful deliveries
- promotors/sales people paid by % commission
- Odd jobs such as flier distributors etc
Companies who hire these ppl are flexible in terms of the time taken to complete the job. Hence they allow the employees to decide how much/how hard they wish to work. It is very difficult to set a min wage for such positions.
Likewise, there are employees who value such jobs because of the freedom.