Minimum wage rise a gift to National

Low wage workers need a rise to combat inflation, but the higher minimum wage is another cost for businesses that are doing it hard. (Image: Getty)

Pattrick Smellie

Fri, 11 Feb 2022

Forget the argument about whether raising the minimum wage costs jobs or not.The research says it doesn’t.But if you’re a business owner worrying about making payroll every week in a sector where covid-19 is killing your trade, that’s not really the point.The government has responded to inflationary times by throwing a 6% minimum wage rise like a cupful of kero on a barbecue that’s already alight.Low income workers will argue, with justification, that 6% compensates them – barely – for the 5.9% inflation incr...

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