Labour scum want
to lower the UK National Minimum wage in Scotland, Wales and the North
of England to around £4.80 per hour. Viewpoint: Cut tax, Mr Brown, not low pay rate
Belfast Telegraph, Thursday, July 26, 2007
If Gordon Brown is seriously considering lowering the minimum
wage in Northern Ireland, as well as in other regions of Britain, he
must think again. He may want to compensate for the high cost of living
in London by raising incomes there, but to do it through changes to the
national minimum wage is a dangerous step backwards.
Reports from Westminster indicate
that the Prime Minister has been convinced by studies saying that
having a common minimum wage _ currently £5.35 an hour, rising to
£5.52 in October - is uneconomic. Since the cost of living varies
from region to region, it is argued, the minimum wage should reflect
these differentials.
But the effect of such a fundamental change, in minimum levels which
have always been fixed nationally, would be enormous. In Northern
Ireland it would be an acknowledgement that ours is a low-wage economy,
needing low-wage jobs, and it would breach the principle that
nationwide wage levels should be the same, regardless of where one
lives.
Just as important, reducing the minimum in regions like Scotland, Wales
and Northern Ireland would further reduce the incentive for many people
to work. The difference between what they can receive in benefits and
wages is already too small, for those with few qualifications, and
Northern Ireland has the highest percentage of working age adults in
the UK who are not in the labour market. More would join them, if the
minimum wage level were lowered.
Economists might argue that lower minimum wage levels would be
attractive to investors, but proof would have to be produced. Living
costs are levelling out, as mortgage rates rise, and the overall effect
would be to reduce the living standards and expectations of everyone,
except those on guaranteed national rates in public service jobs.
Not surprisingly, members of the Stormont executive, as well as MLAs
and trade unions have expressed outrage at the proposal, which the
Government cannot ignore. One benefit of having devolved assemblies,
here and in Scotland and Wales, is that they can fight proposals that
would place them at a disadvantage, compared to more prosperous areas
like southern England.
Another effect of the proposal, introduced without consultation, is
that it has united politicians across the political spectrum, from DUP
to Sinn Fein. If Mr Brown wants to make the Northern Ireland economy
more competitive, it is not by lowering the minimum wage, but by
cutting corporation tax to the Irish level of 12.5%.