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Minimum Wage : The Exploitation Of Workers

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Minimum wages offer a meaningful question about the exploitation of workers. It identifies the significant problem of exploitation of workers by employers and seeks to promote a fair wage structure. This enables a convincingly possible minimum accepted standard of living for low-paid workers and in any attempt alleviates poverty, creating self-sufficient working families. Minimum wage was first introduced in Australia during the late 1800s to combat manufacturing ‘sweatshops,’ subsequently being introduced in the United Kingdom and the United States in the early twentieth century (Wascher, p.561).
By common definition, there are two possible ways of minimum wage setting. Firstly, statuary minimum wage is set by the government, gaining …show more content…

The market clearing condition, given homogeneous labour, observes (Ls) Labour supply intersects (Ld) Labour demanded for the market determined equilibrium. In competitive markets this allows (N) number of employees to be hired by firms at the real wage of Wce/P. However, as minimum wage is a form of wage rigidity, the real wage allocated to workers is W/P. The nature of this real wage is above the market clearing condition and therefore (N) the number of employees hired by firms is less under this wage rigidity. Leaving Ucl, the surplus of unemployed workers. Minimum wage legislation allows government to set a sensible legal minimum compensation for the work done by employees that firms must pay as employers. Meaning high wages for workers with low marginal productivities and equilibrium wages. In the fast food industry, “Comparisons of grouped and individual state data confirm that the rise in the minimum wage raised average teenage wages, where “there is no evidence that the rise in the minimum wage significantly lowered teenage employment rates." (Card, p.36) Demonstrating appropriateness of increased minimum wage, as young workers often receiving minimum wage as part of their job training and apprenticeships.

In itself, minimum wage is highly debated. On the one hand, minimum wage is argued to be beneficial for the labour market as well as the economy as a whole. Their

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