§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what proportion the statutory minimum wage contributes to the average national wage in(a) each EU state, (b) USA, (c) Japan, (d) Australia, (e) Canada and (f) New Zealand. [14973]
Mr. John M. TaylorThis information can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Limited and somewhat dated evidence is available from the OECD jobs study, from which the table is taken.
Minimum wages relative to average wages by age, education, occupation and gender minimum wage/average wage of the respective groups Men Women Both sexes Education Netherlands, 1989, lowest level, (adults) 0.627 0.777 — Canada, 1988, 0–8 years of education 0.356 0.544 — United States, 1987, 8–11 years of schooling 0.362 0.579 — Occupation France, 1991: Blue-collar workers (ouvriers) 0.657 0.805 0.685 White-collar workers (employee) 0.603 0.667 0.639 Senior managers (cadres) 0.246 0.310 0.257 Age Netherlands, 1989: 15–22, average youth MW 0.538 0.622 — (15–22, adult minimum wage) (1.021) (1.182) — Canada, 1988: 16–19 0.565 0.607 0.583 20–24 0.443 0.510 0.470 France, 1987: 15–19 — — 1.164 20–24 — — 0.747 United States, 1987: 16–24, workers paid hourly rates 0.682 0.794 — 16–19, full-time wage and salary earners 0.697 0.795 — 20–24, full-time wage and salary earners 0.496 0.564 — Note:
1. The youth minimum is estimated as the simple average of the seven specific youth rates.
Sources:
Netherlands: 1989 Wage Survey (submission from the Statistical Central Bureau);
Canada: Market Activity Survey (submission from Statistics Canada);
United States: Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Labour Force Statistics Derived From the Current Population Survey"
1948–87. 1988 (for age) and tabulations from the CPS from Prof. L. Katz (for education).
France: 1987, Declarations annuelles de donnees socials (DADS); 1991,
"L'Evolution des salaries", Dossiers statistiques du travail et de I'emploi.
No. 87, 1993.
Taken from OECD Jobs Study (1994), table 5.26, page 49. OECD, Paris.
543W
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to the answer given on 15 January,Official Report, columns 476–77, if he will list the figures for purchasing power parity on a common basis, indicating the figures per hour; and if he will give the equivalent figures for minimum wage levels and purchasing power parity exchange rates for (a) Australia, (b) Canada, (c) New Zealand and (d) those EU countries excluded from the answer. [14969]
Mr. TaylorThe table shows the minimum wage in a number of countries, calculated as an hourly rate, and translated into sterling using purchasing power parity exchange rates.
Country Minimum wage level (hourly rate) Own currency At PPP1 exchange rates Sterling Belgium BF 249.9 £4.32 France FF 36.98 £3.61 Greece Dr 667.2 £2.20 Luxembourg LF 252.37 £4.07 Netherlands HfL 12.6 £3.83 Portugal Esc 300 £1.64 Spain Pts 374.54 £1.99 USA US$ 4.25 £2.75 Japan2 Y 554 £1.98 Canada C$ 6.25 £3.26 New Zealand NZ$ 6.25 £2.68 All minimum wages converted to hourly rates, assuming a standard 40 hour week, 8 hour day. 1 Wage Rates converted to UK equivalent using 1994 purchasing power parities from OECD National Accounts, 1996. 2 The lowest regional rate.
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what proportion of the work force is covered by the minimum wage in respect of(a) Australia, (b) Canada, (c) New Zealand, (d) all EU countries, (e) USA and (f) Japan. [14970]