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Minimum Wages
Up one levelNot only since the recent economic and financial crises have minimum wages been discussed widely, but the debate intensified in the context of increasing unemployment and the precarization of the world of work. Politicians, researchers and trade unionists battle over the role and effects of minimum wages. Do mechanisms disproportionately interfere with collective bargaining when fixed by public institutions? Do minimum wages hinder economic activity by imposing more and more restrictions and regulations on employers? Or are they to the contrary fostering economic growth by stimulating demand and giving workers suffering from low incomes - often enough below the poverty line - the resources to take part in social and cultural life? The publications listed here will provide a comprehensive catalogue of basic knowledge on the topic. What are the fundamentals of minimum wages? Answers are given regarding mechanisms, practices, challenges – and solutions. Furthermore we focus on the question of minimum wages and social dialogue as a controversial issue even within the labour movement and amongst trade unions. And what role can minimum wages play in different policy areas such as poverty reduction, the promotion of equality, and, not least the realization of decent work? In this regard, further studies on experiences from different countries can give valuable information. Can particularities be found in Latin America across countries and if so, how do they relate to findings from for example India or Malaysia? Especially important from an ILO perspective is that international regulation exists in the form of several ILO Conventions and Recommendations, with the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention (No. 131) from 1970 being the most important.
