John MacDonald: Wage war - what about teachers, nurses and firefighters?

Money will not buy you happiness. We’ve probably all said that at some point. Mostly to try and convince ourselves that the fact we didn’t win Lotto is no biggie. "Ahh, all those millions - would’ve been more trouble than they were worth." And ironically, that’s what Harvard University has been saying this week after crunching the numbers on its Study of Adult Development, which has been the world’s longest research project looking into what makes people happy. Since 1938, Harvard has tracked a whole lot of people to find out what makes life satisfying and what doesn’t. And this week they’ve been saying that one thing that doesn’t make people happy is money. “Money can’t buy us happiness” - that’s a direct quote from one of the big brains who’ve been crunching all the intel Harvard’s gathered since 1938. I say it’s ironic that they’re talking about this now, because it coincides with the Government’s announcement yesterday that the minimum wage is going to increase on the first of April by $1.50 to take it to $22.70 per hour. Which, of course, will make everyone on the minimum wage happy. And if they work 40 hours a week, it’ll mean their annual earnings go up to $47,000. This will be the latest in a line of minimum wage increases in recent years. In fact, by the time April 1 rolls around, the minimum wage will be nearly 30 percent higher than it was four years ago. So, if you’re on the minimum wage, the last few years have been quite good for you in terms of earning more than you did a while back. And let me get one thing clear. If you are someone on the minimum wage, I don’t in the least bit begrudge you for getting a few more bucks. Remember too that minimum wage earners are most likely to be the people everyone’s been paying a lot of lip service too - particularly since COVID. The supermarket workers. The cleaners. Petrol station staff. People working in dairies. No working from home for them. No Zoom meetings. So I have no qualm about these people getting a little bit more in the pay packet. The problem I do have, though, is that because of these incremental increases in the minimum wage over the last few years, we have actually de-valued other people’s work. People who are recognised as being skilled workers. People who have invested time and money in their careers. People who, now, don’t earn all that much more than the minimum wage - especially when you consider the responsibilities their jobs have. Here are some numbers to show I’m getting at. From April 1, when the increase announced by the Government yesterday takes effect, someone on the minimum wage who works 40 hours a week will be paid about $47,000. And remember we’re talking about supermarket workers here. Cleaners. Petrol station staff. Dairy workers. If they work full-time, $47,000. Compare that to other people who, I think it’s safe to say, are skilled workers. Let’s start with teachers. What do they earn? The average teacher earns $54,000 a year. Or $28 an hour. Minimum wage $22.70 from April 1 - or $47,000 annually. Your average teacher gets $5.30 more per hour, or $7,000 more per year. What about an entry-level nurse, after years of study and on-the job training? $60,000. Paramedics? $61,000. Firefighters? Their base salary is $69,000. So $47,000 to work in a supermarket - just an extra $22,000 to put your life on the line day-in day out as a firefighter. It’s exactly the same too if you’re just out of Police College. So while I think it’s brilliant that someone on the minimum wage is going to have a bit more in their pocket. I think it is absolutely nuts that people like teachers, nurses, firefighters and young police officers are paid ridiculously low in comparison.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.