living wage
Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word living wage. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word living wage, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say living wage in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word living wage you have here. The definition of the word living wage will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofliving wage, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Noun
living wage (plural living wages)
- (economics) The minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs.
- Coordinate terms: minimum wage, slave wage, maximum wage
- 2019 October 23, Rail, page 13:
- The RMT union is claiming a "massive victory" after outsourcing company Mitie agreed to pay the living wage to employees working at Network Rail stations. It follows a campaign by the union to improve pay, with RMT General Secretary Mick Cash commenting: "This is a massive victory in the fight to eliminate the evil of low pay on the railway, [...]."
Usage notes
- Whereas a minimum wage is the minimum that is legal in a given jurisdiction, a living wage is the minimum that is adequate to prevent destitution, whose cutoff value is subjective but is sometimes operationally defined using economic statistics in similar ways as poverty lines are defined.
Related terms
Translations
minimum income
|
References
- “living wage”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
- “living wage”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.