Wage crisis has occurred, with employers believing that the job done is worth more than the wage allotted. Wage crises cause stress and schisms between employers and employees, as seen in Walmart stores when workers and activists complained that the pay assigned to their employees were insufficient to cover the rising cost of living (Marginson, Paul & Christian, 2014).
Walmart was under political and activist pressure to raise employee wages since they were too low to be considered an economic activity because they did not provide employees and their families with a sustainable salary for upkeep. but it would also not meet the daily rise in the cost of living in the country caused by inflation.
Walmart insists that it raised wages to growth in their stores and that they were trying to give a piece of the cake to their workers. Walmart actions display no notion of economic moves and might be a calculated move as the wage rise will not reach all their employees as in some states in the country the initial 9$ is above their minimum wage i.e. Columbia.
If Walmart were raising wages as a motivation to their workers, they would increase the wages across all states, but Walmart did not increase their employee wages where the federal minimum wage was lower than their initial 9$. Evidence shows that the rise of wages by Walmart was due to the pressure from the government and activists who were pushing for increased employee wages and not out of good will (Hellebrandt, Tomas, Michael, Jacob, Tyler, Adams, Justin & Jan 2015).
Impacts of Walmarts Increase in wage to 15$ Per hour
Rise in wages to 15$ per hour by Walmart to the sideline with activists demands will see a lot of money spent on employees and this will, in turn, bring about better lifestyles for their employees all over the country as they will afford to get all bought necessities with no financial strains.
The rise in pay brings about motivation to workers in that they will work more effectively when the pay is good and increase Walmart profits thus making the rise in wages a mutual benefit between Walmart and their employees. Researchers at Wharton proved that with any extra dollar spent on employee wages, sales increase from 4-28 $.
Walmart wage rise will likely favor all employees countrywide as, after a rise in pay at Walmart, all other business organizations will have to adjust to the same and follow suit as pressure will start mounting on them, in this case, Walmart will have started a revolution of better payments in the United States.
Government and the Minimum Wage
The government should raise the minimum wage as this will make all the employing firms adhere to it. A good minimum wage of around 15$ will be good for the general country as living standards of its citizens will be boosted, and people will have an easier task in paying for taxes and education (Grimshaw, Damian & Rubery, 2014).
Although wage rise will see firms spend much on employees, it will be no gain as they will be paying for work done and nevertheless, companies like Walmart have been seen to possess a capability of paying up to 15$ for minimum a wage, but they want to continue oppressing their employees with low pays.
In conclusion, it is evident that the issue of the minimum wage should be addressed by both employers and the government to provide a good living platform for employees where they can afford to cope with the rise in the cost of living with no financial strains.
References
Marginson, P., & Welz, C. (2014). Changes to wage-setting mechanisms in the context of the crisis and the EU’s new economic governance regime. Dublin, Eurofound.
Grimshaw, D., Bosch, G., & Rubery, J. (2014). Minimum wages and collective bargaining: What types of pay bargaining can foster positive pay equity outcomes?. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 52(3), 470-498.
Hellebrandt, T., Jarand, M., Kirkegaard, J. F., Moran, T., Posen, A. S., Wolfers, J., & Zilinsky, J. (2015). Raising Lower-Level Wages: When and Why It Makes Economic Sense. Peterson Institute for International Economics.
