Greg Thomson

1
The UK Minimum Wage A Trade Union Perspective

• Greg Thomson
• London Region

2
Who we are

• UNISON is a public sector trade union with 1.3
  million members
• Local Government, Health, Higher Education,
  Water, Electricity, Gas and Environment.
• Around ¾ of members are women
• Many are low paid
• UNISON has a long history of campaigning for a
  minimum wage
• We are pleased and proud to be twinned with Ver.di

3
What is it about

• Arme, die eure Hilfe nötig haben, wird es immer
  geben.
• Trade Unions have always challenged established
  thinking.

4
A Little History

• First Minimum Wage was in
• New Zealand in which year ?
• The Minimum Wage was introduced into US in which
  year?

5
Who got it right?

• New Zealand - 1896
• US - 1938
• All those who got this right probably dont need
  the rest of the presentation!

6
And in Europe

• 18 EU states have a Minimum Wage

7
Does Germany have a Minimum Wage?

• Need to distinguish between minimum wage in the
  sense of a universal statutory wage and sector
  minimum pay set by industry negotiations or Wages
  Councils (UK RIP 1993)
• Benefits trap there is a strong interaction
  between benefits and minimum pay. UK Tax Credit
  System.
• What we are concerned with today and what we now
  understand as a minimum wage is a single
  universally applicable statutorily enforceable
  figure which the employer has to pay.
• So the answer is No!

8
The Minimum Wage in the UK

• Introduced on the 1 April 1999
• Applies to
• All Workers
• All Sectors
• All Regions
• Only distinction on the grounds of age UNISON
  opposes this
• Currently stands at 5.25 (7.8) - UNISON
  believes this is too low.

9
Low Pay Commission

• Comprises representatives from
• Employers
• Trade Unions (Heather Wakefield)
• Academics

10
Terms of Reference

• Low Pay Commission Terms of Reference
• Monitor, evaluate and review the NMW and its
  impact, with particular reference to the effect
  on pay, employment and competitiveness in the low
  paying sectors and small firms the effect on
  different groups of workers, including different
  age groups, ethnic minorities, women and people
  with disabilities and migrant workers the effect
  on pay structures and taking into account any
  forthcoming changes to the statutory annual leave
  entitlement effect on unemployment is a
  criteria

11
International Comparisons of MW
12
Key Issues

• Opposition
• Level
• Enforcement

13
Opposition

• Opposition focuses on two arguments
• From the employers
• Minimum Wage will increase unemployment
• And from some trade unionists
• Minimum Wage undermines union organisation

14
UK Experience
15
A comparison
16
Union Organisation

• Impacts but not in a negative way
• Debate about wage structures.
• Base for bargaining.
• Issues around living wage.
• But it is not a panacea.

17
Pay rates
18
UK Trade Union Membership
19
UNION DENSITY
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Level

• Terms of Reference focus on
• employment and competitiveness
• As well as effect of pay on individual standard
  of living. There is a trade off between
  perceptions about effect on employment and a
  living wage.
• Regional variations can make this even more
  evident.
• In London the Mayor has set a Living Wage of
  7.20 per hour (this is based on a poverty wage
  of 6.25 per hour)
• See - http//www.london.gov.uk/mayor/economic_unit
  /workstreams/living-wage.jsp

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Wages/Minimum Wage
22
International Comparisons
23
Enforcement

• In the UK this is through tax enforcement
  agencies effective
• TUC maintains a dialogue over enforcement
  important unions involved at all stages

24
The Minimum Wage

• The strength of the Minimum Wage is its
  simplicity and universality
• Morally I believe that there is an unanswerable
  argument for a minimum wage
• It does not end poverty
• Trade Unions have a key role to play in setting
  and enforcing a minimum wage.

25
So

• Ein Spruch von Oscar Wilde
• Wir liegen alle in der Gosse, aber einige von
  uns betrachten die Sterne.

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