Image: Labour Day and the minimum wage

Labour Day (otherwise known as International Worker's Day) is a celebration of labourers and the working classes that occurs every year on 1 May. It's supported by the international labour movement and has close ties to trade unions. As May Day is also an ancient European spring holiday, many countries have established it as a public holiday and demonstrations championing the rights of workers take place around the world.

Image: Labour Day LogoA topic of debate gaining momentum in labour movements is the 'living wage'. The living wage is the minimum income a worker needs to meet their basic needs and should be attainable through full-time employment. However, though working full-time, many workers are still finding it difficult to make ends meet and have to rely on government subsidies to survive.

How can this problem be tackled on an international scale? Is government intervention the key? Can an imposed rate of pay help workers prosper?

To answer these questions, we have to first look back on the impact the implementation of the existing 'minimum wage' has had on countries around the world. Emerald authors have tackled these questions in a series of articles, shared in the infographic below; and to celebrate Labour Day, we're making them free to access until 25 May 2016.

Click on the image below to see the full infographic

Image: Minimum wage infographic.

Articles of interest


Image: Social media