Yesterday I expressed concern about Unite’s referendum on indexing the minimum wage to two-thirds of the average wage on practical grounds while strongly supporting the idea in principle.
Today in its editorial the Herald takes exception to the principle, complaining that such a move, even phased in over a three year period, would deny people the ‘opportunity’ to be paid low wages and that
“More fundamentally, a minimum wage indexed to two-thirds of the average wage would trigger a ratcheting up of all wages.”
You do have to wonder – why would the Herald object to “racheting up” wages across the board, particularly when we all know how important it is to fix our low wage economy and start closing the wage gap with Australia?
It’s times like this that it pays to remember the Herald and its parent company APN are employers, rather large ones in fact, and their own record on wages is part of the reason we have a low wage economy in the first place. Makes you think, doesn’t it?
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