New Minimum wage?

D

What do people think about the new minimum wage €7.65 and hour. I think that it will just increase the rate of inflation. While I realise that there is a growing disparity between the rich and poor i feel that this is a bad move by the government in the long run.
Thoughts?

ApeXaviour

no

Kernel

Well, I think it is a good move, and may not necessarily increase inflation, but may in fact put more cash into the exchequer and the economy. I'm not so sure about a growing disparity between the rich and the poor, coz I haven't seen any figures for a long time. But for moderate paid workers, it seems that for some years now, we have suffered pay freezes and increased bills, which means we are not being protected as well as the minimum wage workers.

One could counter with the argument that the tax breaks in the last budget were designed to help the above minimum wage workers, but I haven't noticed too much of a digout. Unforunately, in the IT sector, or the manufacturing industry, it's up to the multinationals to decide how many scraps to throw the workers, and since they don't like trade unions, we be ****ed.

At the end of the day, it's just an election ploy by the government. You'll probably notice a lot more of them in the next while.

Power to the people. Take back control.

D

Some nice points there Kernal.

Steveire

Isn't AH non-work related?

Kernel

D wrote:

Some nice points there Kernal.

Thanks D.

The_Conductor

7.65 per hour isn't bad going tbh
Instead of rising the minimum wage, a far better approach would be to remove all workers on the minimum wage from the tax brackets altogether. This would give people Euro 1225 straight into their hands on a monthly basis- its not extravagant, but my aftertax money isn't a hell of a lot more than this, and I'm in whats considered a reasonably well paid job.

A lot of people on the minimum wage qualify for rent relief / medical cards etc- which in all honesty means they may in fact be better off than their "peers" who may end up spending the vast bulk of their income on these two basic needs.....

Even those of us on *reasonable* wages are struggling in Ireland of today- removing more of us from the tax bands altogether would be more the direction to go, I think.

kaimera

blah, it's minimum wage with experience etc etc.

student wage is lower iirc.

isn't the extra few pence going to push people into a tax bracket now? member reading somewhere some people could be worse off with the increase...

Kernel

kaimera wrote:

isn't the extra few pence going to push people into a tax bracket now? member reading somewhere some people could be worse off with the increase...

I'd say the increase in the tax bands brought about by Mr. Cowen will probably address the increase in minimum wage, very few people should be out of pocket because of this. Give the workers more money, it's the grease that oils the wheels!

dawballz

I want more.

knifey_spoonie

its better than the €2 i get, so stop complaining

Kernel

knife_fighter wrote:

its better than the €2 i get, so stop complaining

Are you a turkish builder?

billy the squid

Kernel wrote:

Are you a turkish builder?

rofl

which jobs actually pay minimum wage nowadays. any shops and the like would pay more than the 7 euros in my experience.

could be wrong though

The Real B-man

im 17 i get 7 an hour in a local shop

Flukey

It depends if you are working and what you are earning I suppose. If you are on €7 an hour it is a good thing. If you earn €300,000 a year (not me) then it doesn't really matter to you. Of course it might if you are the boss and it will eat into your profits, making it harder for you to get your exorbitant salary.

The_Conductor

billy the squid wrote:

rofl

which jobs actually pay minimum wage nowadays. any shops and the like would pay more than the 7 euros in my experience.

could be wrong though

Yes, thats my experience in Dublin anyhow. Having the ability to speak reasonable English (strange though it may sound) is normally good for at least an extra Euro per hour. In large numbers of shops/restraunts here, its increasingly difficult to make yourself understood in English. My repetoire of Russian and Chinese cursewords and swearings has improved markedly though

DonkeyStyle \o/

Bleh, they should just pay everyone the same... hail communism tbh.

Kernel wrote:

Are you a turkish builder?

Classic

thomas.oleary

Im just happy now. Im hopeing to get a job soon and i should be paid minimum wage so i will be rolling in the do'h as they say.

Ms Beanbag

On min wage how much tax should you be paying?
Earning €7 an hr you'd be paying no tax? is that right?
I've just started work, and my tax affairs are a bit screwy!