Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/22992

Title

New laws will give employees a choice : the minimum wage or the sack

Author(s)

Legge, John M.

Abstract

The Federal Government's industrial relations proposals may reduce the unemployment rate slightly, although recent American research into minimum wage changes shows this to be doubtful. They will certainly have unpleasant consequences. One of the claims of the reform advocates is that productivity will improve. Yet, since innovation will be discouraged by the changes, these supposed productivity gains will prove illusory. Most Australians are better off today than we were 20, 50 or 100 years ago, not because we can buy more, but it is the new and improved products that make our lives better. We don't watch three black-and-white TV sets just because we could afford to; we watch a colour one. Goods that have been around for a while are cheaper in real terms than before, not because today's workers run instead of walk, but because today's workers have better equipment and better planned working arrangements. [Introduction]

Publication type

Newspaper article

Research centre

Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Business and Enterprise

Source

Sydney Morning Herald, 02 June 2005

Publication year

2005

Keyword(s)

Australia;  Federal government;  Howard Government;  Innovation;  Industrial relations;  Minimum wage;  Productivity;  Salaries;  Wages

Publisher

Fairfax

Publisher URL

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Opinion/New-laws-will-give-employees-a-choice-the-minimum-wage-or-the-sack/2005/06/01/1117568257970.html

Copyright

Copyright © 2005 John M. Legge.