§ Mr. HealeyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will set out in(a) domestic currency and (b) pounds sterling at purchasing power parity exchange rates, the statutory national minimum wage, on the minimum wage established through bargaining in key industries, in (i) each EU state, (ii) the USA and (iii) Japan. [14752]
§ Mr. Ian McCartney[holding answer 18 November 1997]: My department does not systematically collect information on all countries. What information is available is set out in the table.
National minimum wages in selected countries for 1997 Local currency Local currency rate period PPP£ equivalent Belgium Belg. franc 44,185 month 796.74 France Fre. franc 39.43 hour 4.07 Greece drachma 5,746–6,321 day 17.55–19.30 Luxembourg Lux. franc 46,275–55,530 month 786.33–943.59 Netherlands guilder 2,243 month 734.66 Portugal escudo 56,700 month 310.02 Spain peseta 2,221 day 11.86 USA dollar 5.15 hour 3.49 Japan yen 4,521–5,252 day 17.72–20.58 The definition of the minimum wage varies across countries. Also, exemptions may apply for some workers and different rates may apply for youth workers.
Local Currency rates for 1997 as known at 28 July 1997.
Source for purchasing power parities (PPP), OECD, Main Economic Indicators, 10/97. PPP rates are for 1996.