The National Minimum Wage Act 2000

Title | “The National Minimum Wage Act 2000 has led to the loss of lower paid jobs such as petrol pump attendants and it should be removed in order to bring back these jobs”. Examine this statement looking at the advantages and disadvantages of the minimum wage act from both the perspective of the individual and the business/producer. |

NameStudent ID | John Cahalan |

NameStudent ID | Paul Lancaster13168606 |

Module Title | Irish Economic Environment |

Module Code | EC3601 |

Submission Date | 29th November 2013 |

Introduction

In this paper we will look at the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 and the impact it has on lower paid jobs in the economy and if it should be removed in order to bring back these jobs. In order to do this we also need to look at external factors such as social welfare payments and the economic situation of the wider economy, all of which have a significant impact on both job opportunity and job creation.

Before discussing the impact of lower paid jobs in the economy in detail, it is important to clarify what is meant by a Minimum Wage Act and an Hourly Wage Rate and what level should be used to indicate low pay.

As defined in “NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE ACT, 2000” ‘the Minimum Wage act is to provide for the determination, declaration and review of a national minimum hourly rate of pay for employees’ (Office of the Attorney General, 2000). The hourly wage rate is generally defined as the amount of pay you receive for working and is a matter for agreement between an employee and the employer. However to decipher what level should be used to indicate low pay we need to look at the Phillips Curve, the wage curve and the equilibrium level of supply and demand of wage and quality labor.

Main Body

Prior to the introduction of the National Minimum Wage Act in April 2000, ‘minimum wages in Ireland were set by Joint Labour Committees. However, the wage structure specified in these agreements were quite low’ (O’Neill et al....