Minimun Wage: the Exposition of International and National Forms

Minimun wage - have you heard this words combination before? So in this "Minimum wage essay thesis statement" the definition of the concept and its forms are given. To date, several definitions of minimum wages have been formulated internationally, but none are directly enshrined in a universally recognized international act (conventions, recommendations, etc.). All existing 'international' definitions of minimum wages are presented as collective expert opinions, set out in reports on individual meetings and conferences at the international level.

Thus, the experts of the International Labor Organization, as early as 1967, formulated the definition of the minimum wage as a wage that is considered 'sufficient to meet the basic needs of food, clothing, housing, education and recreation of the worker, taking into account the economic and the cultural development of each country. In some cases, the needs of the family are also taken into account in the same way as the work of the worker, in other cases, they are compensated with family allowances and other social security measures .

At the same time, it was pointed out that the minimum wage 'is the lowest permissible level of reward, which has the force of law in each country and is provided by fines or other appropriate sanctions' .

ILO experts note that 'the concept of 'minimum wage' in the form in which it derives from the acts studied by the ILO Committee of Experts on the Implementation of Conventions and Recommendations combines three clear aspects of wages:

• Pay for the work performed by the employee;
• Wages as the basic income of the employee should guarantee the existence of the employee and his (her) family members;
• Wages are [an element of] cost and a component of general consumer spending.

The ILO Committee of Experts emphasizes that several some many ILO instruments (namely, Part III of Recommendation No. 30, paragraph 2 of Part I of Recommendation No.89 and Article 3 of Convention No.131) suggest that consider a combination of these three aspects when determining the minimum wage. By the end of the twentieth century, the definition of 1967 was refined and reformulated in a 'legal' style by the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations.

According to the new definition, the minimum wage is 'the minimum amount paid to a worker for work performed or services performed in a certain period, calculated based on time or productivity, which can not be reduced by either individual or collective agreement, guaranteed by law and which it must be established in a way that compensates for the minimum needs of the worker and his or her family in the light of national economic and social conditions” . You can clearly find the elements of 'flexibility' that emerged in defining the minimum wage by the end of the last century:

• Under the new definition, the minimum wage should no longer be 'considered sufficient' to meet very specific urgent needs ('in food, clothing, housing, education and leisure'), and maybe any 'minimum wage', sum ';
• Not its immediate size, but only the manner of its establishment should 'enable the needs' of the worker and his family to be compensated;
• At the same time, the needs to be compensated by the introduction of a minimum wage cease to be 'urgent', becoming 'minimal', and also generalize, losing a specific list of needs to be met;
• 'The economic and cultural development of the country' is transformed into a more general and politically correct concept of 'national economic and social conditions'.

Of course, these changes make the new definition of the minimum wage more accessible for use by economically weak countries that are unable to compensate for the wide range of 'urgent' needs of the worker and his family members, given in the previous definition. . At the same time, however, this obviously justifies the reduction of minimum wage guarantees by using more or less complex schemes in which the minimum wage itself may not be sufficient 'to meet the needs' of the worker and his family (even minimal), acquiring only this quality together with some additional payments and measures that form a 'way' for its determination.

Almost simultaneously with the new definition of the minimum wage by the experts of the ILO, the international community of legal scholars has developed its own interpretation of this concept. According to them, the minimum wage, 'calculated based on time or productivity, is a level which cannot be reduced and whose application is guaranteed by law'. It can be noted that this definition is hardly recommended to be used in the development of national interpretations of the minimum wage due to its overly general nature. Based on legislative guarantees as an imperative, it does not establish procedures for setting minimum wages and does not mention the socially significant goals of its establishment. This definition describes a legal entity, without offering instructions for its change and development, which limits the scope of its application to purely scientific and educational tasks.

At the national level , the concept of 'minimum wage' is interpreted to one degree or another by the current position of the experts of the ILO. The definitions of this concept, as a rule, include an indication that the minimum wage is a 'minimum amount', followed by a note:

• According to legal criteria: for work performed (subject), paid to the employee (subject), in cash (form);
• Social criteria: compliance with the minimum needs of the employee (employee and his family) in light of prevailing labour standards, provided that the employee is considered the head of the household, etc.;
• Economic criteria: compliance with the purchasing power of the lowest-paid employee, determination by increasing consumer prices, etc.

The legislation of individual countries differs significantly in the definitions of the minimum wage and the terminology used to describe it. For example, some countries consider it the basic wage, others emphasize the social aspects of the minimum wage , others mention the socio-economic goals inherent in the idea of its establishment, and so on . When the legislation defines the minimum wage in any such way, it may also propose it as an interpretation:

• As the minimum amount paid to the employee [in cash] for the work performed, or as the one legally established as the minimum wage, or as the one set per under the minimum wage rates, etc.
• Which may be additionally accompanied by the condition that the minimum wage meets the 'minimum needs of the worker in the light of the prevailing standard of living' and the ban on the payment of wages below that established by law or bylaw (decree, etc.). The worker is usually the head of the household or family.

In cases where the minimum wage is set through collective bargaining mechanisms (alone or in conjunction with certain government measures), the legislation usually does not contain a clear definition of a '[collective] minimum wage by agreement'. However, in such countries, the law often stipulates that the 'minimum wage for collective bargaining' should not be lower than the wage paid in other similar activities, and the binding force of the 'minimum wage for collective bargaining' is guaranteed by the state.

The minimum wage (MW) plays a key role in regulating the existing income system of the population for the majority of workers and retirees. This is because since the state regulation of wages mainly comes down to setting a minimum wage (minimum wage), mandatory for employees in enterprises and organizations of all forms of ownership.

Minimum wages are defined as the minimum amount of compensation that an employer must pay to earners for work performed during a given period, which cannot be reduced by a collective agreement or an individual agreement. Minimum wages have been an important issue in the ILO since its inception in 1919. Based on the view that 'universal and lasting peace can only be established if it is based on social justice', the ILO Constitution in its Preamble called for the immediate improvement of working conditions, including 'the provision of adequate living wages' .

To conclude, a minimum wage is a basic tool in the fight against state labour and social inequality that the state uses to support low-paid workers. In reality, it does not always work, from the point of view of the existing views that the minimum wage, in any case, increases unemployment, especially among low-skilled workers, and contributes to the outflow of workers from the legal labour market, which leads to increased informal employment.