Minimum wage usually sets the lowest pay someone can get, but with the current economic crisis, it's basically become standard. Most folks are either getting minimum wage or just a bit more.
So, what's it like in your country? Are the minimum wages enough? Here, the minimum wage is actually below the poverty line. It's only 28,000 TL, which is around $600. Meanwhile, the poverty line sits at 36,000 TL, or about $775. There's no way someone on minimum wage can support themselves or their family.
They end up spending a huge chunk of their paycheck just on rent. With this situation, even a couple both working minimum wage can't make it work. Forget about living comfortably; they’re just trying to avoid hunger. The economy is seriously struggling.
The minimum wage set in my country (Pakistan) for year 2026-27 is 40,000 Pak Rupee which is equivalent to 143$. Although government has set this minimum wage limit but not many employees adhere this limit and still pay far less money to their employees. This is happening because government itself is not paying much attention for compliance of its orders.
Now if we talk whether 40,000 is enough to spend a month then I would say that for a family of 4 persons it will be possible but if you have more family members then it becomes difficult. This is one prime reason why such families send there children to work so that they can earn rather then sending them to schools.
The minimum wage discussion is starting on the wrong level.
Aim a bit higher. You cannot push a country, your live on a minimum wage.
Does your country support start ups?
The minimum wage in our country is pretty low, which is 40,000 PKR, which converts to around $143 or something, which is obviously not good enough. Apart from that, it's just the national minimum wage, but it's not always respected by the employers, because you will often find companies and employers exploiting their employees and paying them way below the minimum wage for a whole month, and this is the reason why when inflation rises even a little bit, people start having so many problems because they already earn below the minimum wage, and on top of that, when the prices of goods and services increase, they can surely not afford them.
I myself have worked for firms for wages below the minimum, and I can totally understand how difficult it becomes to manage everything when you are not earning enough when expenses are just increasing over time. After each month, you see that the prices are still increasing, but your income is not increasing at all and you are already earning below the minimum, so you can imagine how problematic that can be for a family person.
Minimum wage in my country is not really enough with the cost for basic necessities and foods are increasing because of inflation and the oil price hike because of war. also saving money is hard because the salary just gone because of spending it I hope that the government will have conscience about this issues because a lot of people are struggling everyday because of it.
I don't think there is any minimum wage in any country around the world that is enough. The reason some people work for the minimum wage is because some probably don't have any other option so they just work for the amount that barely keeps them pushing on
A minimum wage may look higher in other countries but when you take into math the cost of living and inflation, then you will realize that it's never enough all throughout.
What that is important is the high standards of living, the amenities and infrastructures provided by the government. You can see the minimum wage of a country to be high, but that may not reflect on their standards of living if the PPP in the country is high.
Another thing is that it is better to have better qualifications and knowledge to earn above the minimum wage because those that live a more comfortable life earn above the minimum wage.
I live in a country that I earn above the minimum wage, but not yet a wealthy person, but I am average.
The minimum wage in my country is one of the worst if not the worst in the whole world, inflation has taken over everything, the purchasing power is now zero, if I should call the amount in my currency it looks very big but if you want to buy something or pay bills with it, it amounts to nothing, like right now I don't even know the amount that will be very suitable for the workers in terms of minimum wage in my country because things are too rough, the price of goods, transportation and gas is something else, all these problems started when our president removed subsidy on Petroleum products, at first many saw it as good development because of what was promised but as I speak the promise is now a mirage, the increased the minimum wage but the minimum wage is laughable because it doesn't solve anything, it can barely cater for anything.
What's considered enough? To live in the capital city with a family? Absolutely not. You can't even live alone with that money, unless you don't pay rent, and you will still struggle to pay the bills and supermarket, if you're eating real food and not processed garbage.
People think daddy State can dictate what the minimum livable wage is, and that entrepreneurs will just agree to hire anyone, despite the minimum wage, with no economic calculation, as if it's the Bible that says it. If the minimum wage is above a threshold, most people will just stay unemployed.
I think increasing minimum wages in your country is but only one among other things the government in your country has to do because if they only increase minimum wages and inflation worsens there wont be any beneficial effects for you and the people of your country.
Tax has also made those with higher minimum wages than your country have nothing to save up because your income after tax is not enough to sustain you before the next wages.
The minimum wage is nothing to write home about in my country. It's not even up to $100 and inflation is on the rise. I have a friend that forgo his job because he cannot meet up with his needs and monthly expenses since, only transportation to work has eaten almost 90% of his income.
Lol, I just couldn't laugh enough when I read that the minimum wage in your country is $600. To shock you, in my country the minimum wage is equivalent to $50(70,000).
Yes that's right. And with the high level of poverty in my country you can imagine what people are going through. It's never going to be enough. The economic system in most country is broken and the government are not doing anything to fix em.
A common man who only depends on the minimum wage won't be able to provide for his family because it's not going to be enough.
Well, it's like this in my country:
It's far from enough... the minimum wage can barely cover bills & some basic needs, but for the rest we need to find additional sources of income. And there's a lot of borrowing, buying expensive things on credit... all in all, we need to find a way to cope with a given situation, to find a solution for various situations...
That struggle is real, but we are all on edge... some are luckier than others, but in life, you never know what tomorrow brings. We can just do what we think is best at the moment, and hope for the best & better tomorrow... kinda like gambling, placing a bet, and waiting for the result.
People receive low wages because employers understate the cost of wages, which is caused by high hidden taxes (all deductions can amount to ~60%), which are used for other purposes (corruption).
And yet, very often, they receive less than this minimum.
In my country, the minimum wage is about $360. Now compare that to your numbers and let me ask you one question: why are you complaining?
And in my country, people somehow survive even with a salary lower than in yours.
Is the economy really to blame here? Could it be low skills? Because there are certainly people in your country who earn more. Why? Because they didn't sit around waiting for the minimum wage to be raised, but rather improved their professional skills and climbed the career ladder.
What solution do you see for this problem? Raise the minimum wage for everyone? At whose expense? Provide free housing for everyone? And who will sponsor this "party"? Maybe the government should introduce an additional social security tax that you would pay? You worry about young families, don't you?
No matter how much complain, the rules of the game won't change. It's impossible to make everyone rich and happy in the current (or any other) economic model. Inequality and the unequal distribution of resources will always remain. Want more resources? Then fight for them.
For a standard and independent living, it's sufficient. Our local tradition is to live with an extended family, so perhaps we can still save.
But what companies do is try to avoid this as much as possible by reducing the number of permanent employees. So, more people dream of earning that salary, even if they stay in the same job for years.
I think the term "minimum wage" has the "it's not enough" hidden inside of it by definition (although it shouldn't).
And the bigger problem is not about whether or not minimum wage is enough, it is about the fact that it doesn't catch up to the inflation fast enough. I mean, it does go up eventually to meet the rising prices but that delay between when prices went up until the salaries were also increased is the tough period where you either have to cut back or eat out of pocket.
The government helps the lower classes a lot though. Something that helps make things a little bit easier. There are a bunch of foundations too like the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation that even pays them additional salaries. Also we are an Islamic country so there are concepts like Khums and Zakat that help funding the charitable organizations and help the distribution of wealth.
Minimum wage in our country should be $350 per month, but it is around $140. In our local currency it is around 40,000, which they have just increased this month from 37,000. This minimum wage is for labourers and is not enough, although there is no tax on minimum wage from the government.
Which is not a big benefit, but at least they were kind enough to let them suffer in those 40,000, calling it a big relief in their conference.
Someone from our government even said if anyone is earning $35 to $40 a month is not poor haha. I mean we made a lot of fun and memes on this but in reality people are suffering, they are working way too hard and getting no relief, their mental health is always affected due to this.
Normally, our country's economy is doing fairly well. The wage is around 12 to 15 per hour. Although there are more or less depending on the sector, the minimum wage in France is sufficient considering all aspects, as it is 12 euros per hour.
In my country, the minimum wage is 70,000 Naira, which is equivalent to $51.37. The cost of living for a month is estimated at ₦250,000 to ₦1,000,000+ ($165 to $650+ USD) for a single person. For people who earn below this amount to survive, they would have to live below standard. Some of them will have to live in substandard houses or move to rural areas. Many families skip meals or live on an unbalanced diet.
With the crisis in the Middle East caused by the US and Israel, the sufferings of minimum wage earners have increased. The cost of transportation and essential products has skyrocketed, causing people to suffer. Sometimes I just wonder how low-income earners survive because I know the amount of sacrifice I have to make to make ends meet.
When you work on the minimum wage, you need to know the limits! The minimum wage is survival, nothing else.
So when you have two people on minimum wage, you stop paying rent in Istanbul, in your case, and you commute, or you start living in a really cheap one-bedroom apartment, shitty neighborhood, shitty space, but that's what minimum wage means.
Raising the minimum wage has never helped anyone, it has just raised the poverty line along with the costs and ended back to square zero.
What can you buy with $360 around you, and what can you buy with 600 in Turkey?
You assume someone working on the minimum wage in France for 1500 euros has no reason to complain?