FMM for the higher minimum wage if govt were to share the burden
A majority of manufacturers have welcomed the proposal for higher minimum wage provided the new government sticks to its promise to share 50% of the increase with employers, says the Federation of Manufacturers Malaysia (FMM).
“This is [Pakatan Harapan’s] promise [in its general election manifesto]and I believe they should honour it,” said FMM president Datuk Soh Thian Lai after presenting the FMM-Malaysian Institute of Economic Research joint business conditions survey for the second half of 2018.
Soh was referring to Pakatan’s pledge to normalise the minimum wage between business sectors and geographical locations and gradually increase it to RM1,500 in its first five-year term as federal government.
Source: The Edge Markets
Michigan Republicans weigh fate of minimum wage hike, paid sick leave proposals
Michigan’s Republican-led Legislature is considering whether to adopt and later amend minimum wage and paid sick leave proposals rather than allowing them to proceed to the November ballot.
Senate and House Republicans will discuss potential action on both measures when they return to session next week — likely the last opportunity before Secretary of State Ruth Johnson’s office finalizes ballots for printing.
While conservatives usually oppose the $12-an-hour minimum wage and paid sick leave proposals, adopting them would give lawmakers greater flexibility to eventually amend measures that could otherwise drive Democratic voter turnout in the fall.
Source: Detroit News
Minnesota Minimum Wage to rise on Jan. 1
Minnesota’s minimum-wage workers will get a raise starting Jan. 1, state officials announced Thursday.
An adjustment for inflation will raise the statewide minimum wage from $9.65 to $9.86 an hour for workers at companies with annual gross revenue of $500,000 or more. Employees at smaller companies will see the minimum wage go from $7.87 to $8.04 an hour.
The youth wage rate — for those younger than 18 — also will go up to $8.04 an hour, as will the training wage that may be paid to employees under age 20 for the first 90 consecutive days of employment.
The minimum wage in Minneapolis will increase to $15 an hour by 2022 for large companies and by 2024 for small ones. St. Paul officials have pledged to pass a $15 minimum soon.
Source: StarTribune
Introduction of the “Annual Leave National Standard Order”
These new Regulations, on the one hand, introduce new principles in respect of the organisation of vacation leave whilst at the same time crystallising the position in respect of other principles which had developed through case law, including that of the ECJ. Below is a summary of the principles covered by the newly introduced Standard Order:
- Annual leave entitlement shall be availed of on days agreed upon between the employer and employee.
- As from the 1st of January 2019, unless otherwise agreed to in any applicable collective agreement, the employer may only utilize up to the equivalent in hours of twelve working days from the annual leave entitlement for the purposes of any type of shutdown, including a temporary closure of whole or part of the premises by the employer for bridge holidays or any other short periods of shutdown. Any type of shutdown, including a temporary closure of whole or part of the premises by the employer for bridge holidays, shall be communicated to all the employees by the end of January of each calendar year.
- Once leave from the annual leave entitlement of the employee has been agreed to by the employer and the employee, such leave cannot be cancelled unilaterally but can only be cancelled if both the employer and the employee are in agreement.
- Annual leave shall continue to accrue in favour of an employee during the period when she is on maternity leave. Any balance of annual leave un-availed of by the end of the calendar year shall be automatically transferred to the next calendar year when it has not been possible for the employee to avail herself of such leave during the same year when the maternity leave commenced.
- When a public or national holiday falling on a day of work or on a weekly day of rest not being a Saturday or a Sunday falls within a period of maternity leave, such employee shall be entitled to the equivalent in hours of an additional day of annual leave.
- Annual leave shall continue to accrue in favour of an employee during the period when he is on sick leave or injury leave, irrespective of whether the sick leave or the injury leave is fully paid, partially paid or unpaid. Any balance of annual leave un-availed of by the end of the calendar year shall be automatically transferred to the next calendar year when it has not been possible for the employee to avail himself of such leave during the same year when the sickness or injury leave commenced.
- Any period of pre-arranged leave coinciding with a period of maternity, sickness or injury leave shall be considered as not having been availed of but shall be availed of after the return to work or shall be carried on to the subsequent year if such leave could not be availed of during the same year when the maternity, sickness or injury leave commenced.
Source: Mondaq
Ministry proposes a 12 per cent rise in Minimum Wages
The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has put forward a new decree that would raise the minimum wage in the Czech Republic by over 12 per cent. The previously announced change would see the minimum wage climb by CZK 1,500 to CZK 13,700.
The amendment to the Labour Code, which has been posted on the Czech government website, also envisages tying growth of the minimum wage to average salary increases from the year 2020.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is headed by Jana Maláčová of the Social Democrats.
Source: Radio Praha
The benefits of raising Ontario’s minimum wage are tangible
Kevin Pierson has three Tim Hortons stores in west-end Toronto. Like many businesspeople in the foodservice and hospitality industry – one of the country’s biggest concentrations of low-income workers – Pierson worried that the 21 per cent hike in Ontario’s minimum wage to take effect Jan. 1 of this year would cut deeply into his profits, forcing him to lay off employees and reduce hours for those who remained.
But it hasn’t turned out that way.
Source: The Star
Minimum wage to increase next year
Minnesota’s minimum-wage rates will be adjusted for inflation Jan. 1, 2019.
The rate will be $9.86 for large employers and $8.04 for youth and training wages, summer work travel exchange wages, and for small employers. The rate reflects a 21-cent increase for large employers and a 17-cent increase for others.
A large employer is defined as an employer with an annual gross revenue of $500,000 or more.
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry projects there will be 2.6 million jobs in the state in 2019, excluding Minneapolis. Of those jobs, 219,000 (8.4 per cent) will be minimum-wage positions.
Source: Hutchinson Leader.com
Minimum wages in New England and scheduled increases in Massachusetts
Rhode Island–$10.10
Maine–$10.00
New Hampshire–$7.25
Massachusetts Increases Scheduled
$12.00—Jan. 1, 2019
$12.75—Jan. 1, 2020
$13.50—Jan. 1, 2021
$14.25—Jan. 1, 2022
$15.00—Jan. 1, 2023
Source: The Sun Chronicle
Editorial: Raising the minimum wage would cost jobs
Ballot drives for a $12 minimum wage and mandatory sick time appear to be headed for consideration in the Republican-controlled Legislature after Labor Day.
The calculus that has Republicans considering a move that would normally be anathema to their free-market principles is a political one, not an economic one.
The proposals likely would be a big lure for liberal-leaning voters to come out to the polls. That’s the situation Republicans are trying to avert in a year when many expect Democrats to make big gains, fueled by anti-Trump fervour. By passing the measures, the Legislature can keep the proposals off the November ballot.
It’s a bad idea all around, and pre-emptively passing the measures is a terrible idea.
Raising the minimum wage costs jobs, and the jobs that disappear are the kinds of low-skilled jobs that keep the working poor afloat and provide a stepping stone for young people to more lucrative employment.
Source: Crain’s Detroit Business
Fiji to enforce new Labour Law next year
The Fijian government is to bring into force several new provisions to the existing Labour Law to make it more equitable and beneficial to the workforce, Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations Minister Jone Usamate has said.
Speaking at a public consultation meeting held at the Naviivi Village on Friday, August 24, 2018, he said that several provisions of the Law will become effective on January 1, 2019.
Extended benefits
“These would include sick leave, bereavement leave (three days), paternity and family care leave (five days) and other benefits,” he said.
Mr Usamate said that the Law does not cover people on trial or probationary period.
He said that people should be in employment for more than three months to qualify for other entitlements stipulated under the Labour Law.
“The first three months of employment is a qualifier for a worker to receive other employment entitlements. This qualifying period will be inclusive in any employment contract period and should not be distinctive,” he said.
The Act will cover only casual and permanent employment and would not include temporary or part-time employees, he added.
Source: Indian News Link
Know The Law: Drafting maternity leave policy is tricky
You are right; this can be confusing. Often these terms are used interchangeably when, in actuality, they have different meanings.
There are also both state and federal leave laws, and some laws apply only to employers of a certain size.
First, determine which laws apply to you and then distinguish between maternity leave, which is associated with childbirth, and parental leave, which applies regardless of gender or whether one of the parents gives birth.
In New Hampshire, companies with six employees are required to give an unpaid leave of absence to any woman for the period of temporary disability associated with childbirth. This leave can begin before the child is born and can last as long as the mother has birth-related issues that disable her from working.
Source: Newslocker
NLC reveals when a new minimum wage will be implemented
The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC has assured Nigerians Workers of the payment of the reviewed minimum wage before the end of 2018.
Peter Ozo-Esan, General Secretary, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Tuesday, assured Nigerians that the new minimum wage will be implemented in September.
Ozo-Esan made this assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
He blamed the Sallah break for the delay, adding that the tripartite committee involved with the review of the wage will conclude its work on Sept. 4th and 5th.
According to him, “We believe that the initial expectation that by September a new minimum wage should come on board, we think that the government still should be able to deliver that to Nigerians.
“Nigerian workers will continue to demand that from the government and as soon as this report is submitted, the government should do the needful before the National Assembly because that is the process.
Source: Daily Post
Venezuela Is Facing Mass Inflation — So They’re Raising the Minimum Wage by 3,000 Percent
Before socialism, Venezuela was prospering and had a good economy. Now, it costs 2.6 million bolivars to buy a roll of toilet paper.
However, the country’s government has come up with a solution to combat out-of-control inflation: they are planning on raising the minimum wage by 3,000 per cent and continuing to raise taxes.
There are multiple reasons why the country’s economy is in a downward spiral, and due to empty reserves, government officials are desperate to gain as much money from their citizens as possible.
The government has also introduced a new currency, the “sovereign bolivar,” which takes away five zeroes. President Nicolas Maduro claims the destruction of the economy is the fault of other countries, but reports show widespread government corruption.
Source: IRJ Red
Illinois governor vetoes bill to raise minimum salary for teachers
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) vetoed a bill Sunday that would have raised the minimum salary for teachers from $9,000 to $40,000 within five years.
In vetoing the bill, Rauner said he preferred tying pay increases for teachers to performance and incentives.
“Teachers are our greatest asset in ensuring the future of our youth and they deserve to be well-compensated for their hard work,” Rauner wrote in his veto message, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Source: The Hill
House approves 100-days paid maternity leave on 2nd reading
The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on second reading a bill seeking to increase the paid maternity leave period to 100 days for female workers in the government and private sector.
“However, minimum pay legislation is neither the most efficient nor the most effective way to compensate our teachers,” Rauner wrote.
The lower chamber approved via viva voce House Bill 4113, otherwise known as the “100-Day Maternity Leave Law.”
The bill also grants an option to extend for an additional maternity leave of 30 days without pay.
Present laws allow women who had normal delivery to take 60 days of maternity leave, and 78 days if by caesarian section.
Source: Philippine News Agency
A Red State Raises Its Workers’ Minimum Wage to $15
In one of the most surprising legislative twists in state government this year, North Carolina became the first state to implement — and the first red state to approve — an increase in the minimum wage for state workers to $15 an hour, or $31,200 a year.
California, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania have passed legislation that puts them on a path to reach a $15 minimum wage for state employees, but none have reached that goal yet.
The North Carolina decision is “unexpected,” says David Cooper, the senior economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute and an expert on minimum wage issues. “You don’t expect to hear about minimum wage increases happening in conservative places.”
Source: Governing the states and localities
NLC optimistic Nigerian workers will get new minimum wage this year
Peter Ozo-Esan, General Secretary, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has assured Nigerians workers of the payment of the reviewed minimum wage before the end of 2018.
Mr Ozo-Esan gave this assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.
According to him, in spite of the delay caused by the Sallah break, the tripartite committee involved with the review of the wage will conclude its work on September 4 and 5.
Source: Premium Times
Minimum wage proposal for private sector employees submitted to Cabinet
The cabinet will finalise the minimum wage for the private sector by next week said Human Resource Minister M. Kulasegaran today.
He said the proposal paper on the minimum wage has already been submitted to the Cabinet.
“The Cabinet paper has already been submitted and we were asked to clarify certain matters on the minimum wage. Therefore, it will be deliberated by this week or next,” he said.
Previously, it was reported that the government will set a minimum wage for private sector employees.
Source: New Straits Times
Kula: Cabinet to set private sector minimum wage this week or next
SEPANG (Bernama): The Cabinet will finalise setting the minimum wage for the private sector at its meeting this week or next, says M. Kulasegaran.
The Human Resource Minister said the government would set a uniform starting salary for the private sector in the Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak.
The cabinet paper on the proposal has been submitted to the Cabinet. It will come up for deliberation soon, either this week or next week,” he said to reporters on Tuesday (Aug 28).
Source: The Star Online
Talks on new minimum wage start
The Labour Ministry and relevant parties have started talks on the minimum wage for workers in the textile, garment and footwear industries for next year.
A ministry announcement yesterday said initial talks to set the parameters for the new minimum wage were scheduled for this month and discussions between it, employers and unions will take place next month.
“All parties have to use social criteria such as family status, inflation rates, living expenses and economic criteria,” a ministry statement said. “The economic criteria include productivity, the country’s competitiveness, labour market conditions, profit margins and the poverty level.”
The ministry requested all parties to focus on providing data based on research into the criteria as set out in Article 5 of the Minimum Wage Law to use as the basis for negotiations.
Source: Khmer Times
Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoes bill raising teacher minimum wage
Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed a bill that would raise full-time teachers’ minimum wage to $40,000 per year.
The bill was initially filed by Senator Andy Manar in February of this 2018. Governor Rauner has been deliberating on the bill for a little under two months now.
In comments made on the veto, Rauner says: “Teachers are our greatest asset in ensuring the future of our youth and they deserve to be well-compensated for their hard work. However, minimum pay legislation is neither the most efficient nor the most effective way to compensate our teachers. Illinois is one of only 17 states that utilize statewide teacher salary schedules to guarantee some level of minimum pay for teachers. This approach to teacher compensation both limits a school district’s local control and imposes a significant unfunded mandate on school districts. Furthermore, as is well exemplified by Illinois, a salary schedule needs to constantly be updated in order to remain relevant; legislative action is not the most efficient way to maintain relevance.”
Source: Wand17
Davao new minimum wage rates to take effect Aug. 16
The approved P56 increase in Davao Region’s minimum daily wage will come in two tranches, with the first instalment of P30 taking effect on Aug. 16.
The second tranche of P26 takes effect on Feb. 16, 2019.
The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) released on Aug. 1 Wage Order Number 20, which was approved on July 27.
The wage board “has determined the need to restore the lost purchasing power of minimum wage earners in Davao Region for them to cope with the rising cost of living without impairing the productivity and viability of business and industries,” the order states.
Source: Business World