Heeju Park

[Picture A]

EW2 - 020

Oct 15, 2015

Final Draft Mid-Term Exam Paragraph

Why is Raising the Minimum Wage Inconducive to Workers?

Raising the minimum wage has a negative influence on workers for two reasons. In my opinion, increased wages are not always positive. First of all, if the minimum wage is raising, there is a high probability of downsizing. Because the company takes more costs, the demand of labor is lower. For example, an increase in the value of the hourly real minimum wage from $5 to $6 leads to a decrease in employment from 32,000 hours to 24,000 hours [Graph A - (a)] and an increase in unemployment [Graph A - (b)]. It will affect workers directly, and they will take more work burden and stress. Second, the existing workers are worry about unstable employment, so they will frequently underpaid for doing the same work. For example, this year, the minimum wage in Korea is 5,580 Won. Like [Graph B], it is on a rising trend. According to news reports [1], despite of raising wage, some of apartment security guards in Bucheon had been working in much worse conditions. They had been paid in last minimum wage, and they had been worked in less rest time. Sungsik An, Nowon Labor Welfare Center, stated, “It is more important that improving awareness of workers than just raising the minimum wage. [2] For these two reasons, it is necessary to recognize that raising the minimum wage can’t be the solution for workers.

[Graph A]

[Graph B]

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[1],[2] "나이 들어서 그만큼 받음 됐지"…최저임금 못 받는 아파트 경비원. (2015, October 10). Retrieved from http://view.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2015101012102341873

[Reference]

(1) Byrum, G. (Ed.). (2015, May 26). Raise the Minimum Wage [Picture A]. Retrieved from http://letstalknation.com/raising-minimum-wage-los-angeles/ 

(2) Effects of Increasing the Real Minimum Wage [Graph A]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/theory-and-applications-of-microeconomics/s14-03-minimum-wage-changes.html

(3) [Graph B]. (2015, August 5). Retrieved from http://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=022&aid=0002886325