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The minimum wage for workers varies from province to province in Japan (Getty)
The minimum wage, which US President Joe Biden is seeking to increase to $ 15 an hour in the United States, can take many forms in different countries.
The following is an overview of how it is applied in Japan, Germany, Great Britain, and France:
Japan: by prefecture
Japan has several minimum wage packages. Each of the 47 provinces sets its own minimum, taking into account the results of the annual national negotiations between employer and employee representatives and the Ministry of Labor. There is also a minimum wage for certain sectors in each province, such as the auto parts industry.
The minimum wage is higher in urban areas, with Tokyo ranking first at 1,013 yen ($ 9.68) per hour. The lowest is 792 yen in rural areas, such as Akita prefecture in the north or Okinawa in the southeast.
According to the Ministry of Labor, 1.9 percent of employees receive the minimum wage or less in companies with at least five employees.
The minimum wage was increased by just one yen at the beginning of the current fiscal year on April 1, the lowest increase in 16 years. It has risen in the past four years by more than 20 yen as governments try to indirectly boost domestic consumption and chronically low inflation.
Germany: no increase in unemployment
Germany introduced, after heated discussions, a national minimum wage in early 2015.
A special committee, composed of representatives of employers and unions and chaired by an independent chair, is responsible for its review.
The minimum is 9.50 euros ($ 11.50) an hour before tax, which is relatively small compared to other European countries. The committee recommended a gradual increase to 10.45 euros ($ 12.70) by July 1, 2022.
Much of the debate over introducing the minimum wage has centered on whether the measure will push employers to cut jobs. A study, recently published by the Research Institute for the Future of Work, found that minimum wages did not lead to an increase in unemployment.
In contrast, part-time work, which is common in Germany, has been associated with a higher risk of poverty.
Great Britain: the minimum height
In Britain, the minimum wage, or national living wage, was adopted in its current form in 2016. Any increase is decided by the government on the recommendation of the Low Wage Committee, an independent body.
The goal of establishing the new system was to raise the minimum wage to the level of 60 percent of the average wage by 2020, which was achieved according to the governing committee.
The hourly minimum wage for employees over the age of 25 rose 6.2 percent in April 2020 to 8.72 pounds ($ 11.98).
Depending on the age of the employee, the amount could drop to 4.15 pounds ($ 5.69) for apprentices under the age of 16.
Around two million Britons are expected to benefit from the increase in the minimum wage to £ 8.91, which will take effect next April.
The age of people who get it has also dropped from 25 to 23 years.
While there is no public debate about the minimum wage at present, there are many controversies about the minimum income for those receiving unemployment benefits or other low-income people.
France: a different hand
Last year marked the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the minimum wage system in France, or what is called “gross” for short.
Since 2008, it is automatically recalculated each year based on inflation and purchasing power. In January, it rose just under 1 percent to 10.25 euros ($ 12.45) an hour before taxes.
About 2.25 million workers, or 13 percent of the workforce in the private sector, benefited from a 1.2 percent increase at SMEK in early 2020.
The proportion of people receiving the minimum wage is three times higher for those who work part-time or for small businesses, compared to an average of nine percent for employees on full-time contracts.
Every year, various unions ask the government to raise the floor by an amount greater than an automatic raise, in order to extend a “helping hand” to low-income workers.
However, the latter happened in 2012, and governments were concerned that larger increases would hurt job opportunities for those with low qualifications.
Instead, the French government provided a subsidy for those who earn the minimum wage, which was raised to 90 euros ($ 109) a month at the end of 2019.
Around 4.3 million families received the bonus at the end of 2019. At the same time, the government lowered social fees for companies that employ low-wage workers, helping to increase the attractiveness of hiring workers in France.
(Brush from France)
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