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3 Responses to “Should the minimum wage be increased?”

1. Ramesh Sujanani says:

   May 10, 2015 at 4:07 pm

   RAISE WAGES NOW
   Dear Editors, It seems I am being instructed not to write this letter now. It is my opinion that the workers in our society are suffering from intense poverty, which need to be alleviated. Hence I write my reasons. Andre who was not available, suggested that I send it to Gleaner letters.
   There is an article in today’s Gleaner which comes from the head of the IMF’s mission to Jamaica, Mr. Martijn, which indicates that the IMF wants no wage increases in Jamaica at the current time; as this would upset the financial budget. Irrespective, it has been 3 to 4 years government and civil service employees have had no increase in pay to deal with rising inflation; Minimum wages have been limited to 10%. The pressure to survive has become extreme, poverty is increasing, and the crows of heaven are hungrily looking at their prey.
   On both sides of this equation everyone starves to death; unemployment is rising, adolescents leaving school have little future prospects in work and service, better educated employees seek to migrate. Only certain political candidates seem to gaining weight, and making fancy visits overseas and spending money on irrelevant causes, like climate change and climate monitoring (The Riverton City Dump; consider Min Housing, and Environment and Environmental disaster at its Riverton Dump).
   The City dump is currently on fire from neglect by the climate monitors and their administrators. This result is concurrent with opinions that the dump is poorly managed and monitored.
   In an interesting article about wage freeze policy, Paul Krugman a senior economist at NY Times, pointing out that a wage freeze austerity measure may result in opposite effects: Productive slowdown, in many U.S. companies (after some experiences), are occurring with more regularity than expected.
   Paying workers better will lead to better morale, higher productivity, and lesser turnover of employees.
   Significant pay increases across the board for millions of American workers may be contrary to public thinking: So the answer is raise minimum above expectations; allow workers to organize, direct fiscal and monetary policy towards full employment. If this is done, major steps towards a society beneficial to stability and peace will take place. This issue is also now that McDonald’s have announced a wage increase policy, as well as 12 other large businesses.
   The fact being that extreme inequality is a tool of the market, and change may now be invoked if and when ever management requires.

   Conservatives in the past have always maintained that a wage increase is always a market driven product; the law of supply and demand determines the level of wages, and the market will punish those who betray its rules.
   One of the strangest experiences belong to the largest Companies in the World, which had been at the forefront of the world, the Walmart group. After many years of keeping the no wage increase policy, Walmart announced it will be raising pay for half a million workers just a few days ago:
   Now this change will affect whole communities, simply because there will be a significant spill-over effect, and this may spread to many other Companies in the same region. Moreover the example set is the choice made, that Companies the size of Walmart can and will make the right decision; that allow a low-wage company to boost morale, with increased turnover.
   This shows that pay raises may be planned for millions of workers, than would have been thought. This enables better organization of labour, direct fiscal and money policies, tending to promote full employment.
   Then the society will make the point that extreme inequality are results of a choice made, not a driven option of the market.

   (615words)

   ©Ramesh Sujanani
2. Simone Walker says:

   May 17, 2015 at 8:38 am

   Minimum wage needs to be increased but if those who employ them (nurses, teachers etc) does not get an increase in their minimum salary how will it work. Recently, I heard some teachers discussing this issue and they said that they have stopped their washer ladies and credit washing machines from Singer and Courts as it work out better financially. Every one have to be squeezing their pockets except you know who…
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