Wage Slavery

Whilst the phone hacking scandals rage on, several important bills are going unreported. Of particular import is the Minimum Wages (Amendment) Bill which seeks to abolish a national minimum wage and make it regional instead. 

The Low Pay Commission must consider and take evidence on the availability of employment opportunities and the impact of the national minimum wage on job creation and access to employment in all travel to work areas where the average level of unemployment in the preceding year has been above the national average, and must consider in the light of that assessment whether to recommend that the minimum wage in any such area should be set at a level below the national minimum wage.

The theory is that reducing or abolishing the minimum wage will encourage employers to hire more people. However, how does paying someone £3 an hour (for example) actually benefit them? Surely it would just encourage far more part time rather than full time positions, as is already the trend in this post-recession climate. It will only benefit companies, not workers.

Knowing how much the Conservatives and businesses hate the minimum wage, I wondered whether the Government would tackle it. I thought, however, they’d wait until their second term at least.

UPDATE: Bill has been withdrawn. Good.