Can the Base Wage Law Protect Workers in General?
Essay Preview: Can the Base Wage Law Protect Workers in General?
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A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily, or monthly wage employers may legally pay to employees or workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labor. Some consider this wage issue is a necessity while others think it is a detrimental piece of legislation.
The loudest of voices on good side of the debate comes from those who fight to increase the standard of living for the poorest and the most vulnerable class in society. A minimum wage policy will ensure that the so-called “bottom” ten percentile of the society will still be able to earn enough to sustain a respectable lifestyle. Naturally, this will reduce the income gap between the richest and the poorest of the nation. For example, Hong Kongs minimum wage ordinance took effect from May 1 2011, as a milestone for protection of the grass-root labor rights in the city, and it is expected to benefit 270,000 low-paid workers, or around 10% of the working population.
Some others have argued that a minimum wage will improve the work ethic of those who earn very little as the higher pay helps motivate them more. It also encourages employers to have a tougher labour screening process, ensuring that better quality staff is hired as they now have to pay more for each employee.
In addition, some people have noted that a minimum wage law does not add burden to the government. Unlike welfare benefits, cash payouts or tax credits to the poor, this policy will not require the government to increase its spending.
Finally, the minimum wage can also force wealthy companies to share more of the money they make with the people who helped them make it. It helps reduce the practice of hoarding all the money for the executives and paying wages to workers that do not meet their basic needs.
On the other hand, there are also some disadvantages of the minimum wage law in the workplace we need to consider: 1. higher base wage means higher prices for all commodities. This negates the actual wage increase because it costs you more to buy things (your buying power has not increased). Thus, companies cannot just eat the extra costs, they will pass it on to the rest of us; 2. Higher base wages mean fewer jobs available. If an employer can only spend $1,000 on employees, and then if their wages go up he will hire less people or even have to let some go; 3. If the base wage is raised to high, it will cause high unemployment and inflations the costs of goods are too much to make.
In conclusion, we cannot exactly determine whether the minimum wage law is good or bad. But the people who first came about with the idea of a minimum wage had one motivation in mind – to protect individual workers from being exploited by factory owners for the benefit of more profits. From whichever angle you look at this, you must admit that this motive can only be a good thing.