MINIMUM WAGE

France has one of the highest minimum wages in the world, and by extension, so does the French side of Saint Martin.


It sounds very nice on paper to say that ALL people need at least X amount of money to maintain their human dignity, yada, yada, yada!!!!


However, in the real world this works out to mean that people who have spent thousands and studied for hundreds of hours to acquire a professionl licence such as lawyer, who are required to work for years in a law office before they can work on their own, will make the same wage as those who work with absolutely no qualifications, and who are in many cases, functionally illiterate. This is simply not faire.


And even though Saint Martin has its own functionally illiterate, guess whoi will get the jobs.


So today there was a proposal from the Medef, which is the largest union of employers in France, so we know in advance that this is a proposal made to benefit employers, whether people would be in favor of a minimum wage below the actual minimum wage, which would allow companies to employ young people.


Think.


Young people fresh out of school lack experience. Is it fair that they should make as much as people who might have been working already for 10 years? French minimum wage applies to everybody! No matter how many years you have studied, how money you have spent to get there, you are not allowed to make more than minimum wage, because by the time you finish paying the government for those who do not contribute, you will hopefully remain with enough money to feed yourself.


This lower minimum wage would allow young people to acquire experience and a salary, albeit lower than the SMIC.


We know in advance again that employers will use it to their advantage but some people would profit from it too.


As stated before, French minimum wage is practically the highest in the world, so even this would be above minimum wage in amny other countries, at least half the world, and definity higher than the Dutch side of Saint Martin.


Food for thought.