[Grosseschnauzer]

Quote: UN Fair Wage Convention

A resolution to reduce income inequality and increase basic welfare.

Category: Social Justice

Strength: Mild


Proposed by: Iron Felix

Description: RECOGNIZING the right of all workers to receive fair compensation for their labor;

RECOGNIZING the current absence of UN legislation addressing wages and compensation;

CONCERNED that in many nations the working poor, especially women, infants and children, suffer most from this lack of legislation;

CONVINCED of the need to rectify this situation;

RESOLVED to help ensure the right to fair wages for all workers;

The General Assembly of The United Nations hereby ordains that:

(I) For the purposes of this legislation, wage is defined as any compensation, monetary or otherwise, which workers receive in exchange for their labor.

(II) All UN nations are strongly encouraged to enact legislation:

(i)Guaranteeing fair wages as appropriate for their nation, taking into account local economic conditions and standards of living.
(ii)Establishing an enforcement mechanism as deemed appropriate for their nation.
(iii)Providing for the collection and study of relevant economic data to be used in determining appropriate wages in their nation.

(III) Factors to be considered when calculating fair wages should include the cost of food for one worker and one dependent, housing for one worker and one dependent, local utilities (gas, water, electricity, telecommunications, etc.), schooling for one dependent and reasonable and appropriate discretionary spending.

(IV) Wages shall not be denied for time worked.

(V) Wages shall be paid on a regular basis not to exceed 30 days in duration.

(VI) Exemption may be granted for organizations which operate on a not-for-profit basis and whose members or employees voluntarily participate on an unpaid or reduced pay basis. Examples of this type of employment would include, but not be limited to, charitable organizations and organizations which operate sheltered workshops for the disabled, etc.

(VII) The United Nations Wage Adjustment Advisory Commission is hereby established to provide guidance and assistance to UN member nations in determining appropriate wages in their individual nations. The Commission shall be empowered to make recommendations and provide assistance to national governments in matters concerning wage related legislation and policies.

(VIII) It is affirmed that UN nations shall retain the right to make final decisions in all matters concerning wages and compensation, taking into account local economic conditions and factors affecting the economic well-being of all their citizenry.

Voting Ends: Fri Nov 24 2006
[/quote]

[Gnejs]

Im going to vote FOR.

[Saidercray]

Ditto. For.

[Grosseschnauzer]

This has reached the UN Floor and is at vote. I will cast the region's vote sometime late Thursday (EST).

[Domnonia]

Against.

[Federation of Disjunction]

Dom are you against because it doesn't go far enough? Disjunction already has a very high minimum wage so we really wouldn't need to change anything as a result of this one.

I'm in favor except if other nations want to convice me that this is too mild. I'm a firm believer in the fact that big business will always try to reduce operating expenses by keeping pay as low as it can. The abundance of low-skilled laborers makes it possible to keep worker compensation low if there aren't laws in place. In the RL US there are plenty of people who would work for lessthan the minimum wage if it wasn't a law. To quote the movie Bullworth, "How's a man going to take care of his finantial responsibilities working at Burger King? He ain't!"

[Eisophca]

Against. I don't have much of a problem with it, but I'm voting on principle against blockers.

[Thalatash]

Against.

[Antrium]

I can't decide, so I'll ABSTAIN.

[Klouch]

for, but jeezz, one more un commitee.

[Mikitivity]

I had a hard time deciding as well, and tentatively have voted in favour. Why? I wasn't clear on how it was a blocker, but it does seem to be making a positive statement that wages should be reasonable.

[Eisophca]

Clause VIII is the blocker portion.

[Mikitivity]

CeoranaNov 23 2006, 10:35 AM Clause VIII is the blocker portion. [/quote]
I read that as saying that the UN reserves the right to revisit this issue. "Remains seized of this matter ..."

[Mikitivity]

Quote: (VIII) It is affirmed that UN nations shall retain the right to make final decisions in all matters concerning wages and compensation, taking into account local economic conditions and factors affecting the economic well-being of all their citizenry.[/quote]

AH!
:unsure:

You are right.

Please change my YES vote to a NO vote. I'm running to the UN right now to do the same.

Tricky! I'm used to seeing that written as UN members, not UN nations.

[Yeldan IDU Territory]

MikitivityNov 23 2006, 02:32 AMI had a hard time deciding as well, and tentatively have voted in favour.  Why?  I wasn't clear on how it was a blocker, but it does seem to be making a positive statement that wages should be reasonable.[/quote]
I've never been of the opinion that mild proposals "don't do anything". In this case, I thought it would be best to "push" nations in the direction of implementing laws to guarantee fair wages, rather than using the Big Hammer approach.

As for the "blocking" aspect, yes Article VIII will prevent future attempts at minimum wage laws (which I oppose anyway) or living wage laws (which I support, but how would you mandate one for the NSUN?). My fear was that someone would write such a proposal, a well-meaning, but seriously flawed minimum wage proposal for instance, give it a catchy title, and then figure out how to TG it to quorum. I wasn't happy about including Article VIII, but considered it necessary.

The way I see the resolution being implemented is like this:

In nations where wages already are at an acceptable level, the commission will issue a report that basically says "well done, keep up the good work", and nothing will change really.

In "reasonable" nations where wages are low (which I see as the largest group affected by the Resolution), the commission will make recommendations and then the national government and the commission will work together to raise wages in that nation.

In "unreasonable" nations where wages are low, the commission will make recommendations and the national government will tell them to get lost. Or they may accept some of the recommendations, as they see fit. Which is better than nothing. These are the type of nations that would be prone to "loopholing" their way around this sort of resolution, or of leaving the UN outright anyway.

Of course from a gameplay perspective this Resolution will affect all of us equally. That doesn't matter much to me anymore. The game is broken and the stats changes and all of that are sort of irrelevant. I'm more concerned with how resolutions would work from an RP perspective.

[Grosseschnauzer]

Quote: As for the "blocking" aspect, yes Article VIII will prevent future attempts at minimum wage laws (which I oppose anyway) or living wage laws (which I support, but how would you mandate one for the NSUN?). My fear was that someone would write such a proposal, a well-meaning, but seriously flawed minimum wage proposal for instance, give it a catchy title, and then figure out how to TG it to quorum. I wasn't happy about including Article VIII, but considered it necessary.[/quote]

This bothers me.

I don't like the idea of blocker clauses. If it gets used too much, then a resolution on any possible topic would be blocked. I suppose blockers could even be construed to block repeals.

This sort of meta-game reasoning is contrary to the spirit of the game, and individually I would vote "no" in the poll. I will follow the will of the majority as Delegate, and I'll adjust the total to reflect any changes (such as Mik's) but personally, count me as a "no."

edit At the moment then with Mik's vote change the tally is 5-5-1.

[Klouch]

whatss the difference in un members and un nations?

[Eisophca]

There isn't one.

[Yeldan IDU Territory]

GrosseschnauzerNov 23 2006, 02:28 PMI suppose blockers could even be construed to block repeals.

[/quote]
No, the mods have already ruled on that long ago. You can't make a resolution "repealproof", if one tried to do so it would be deleted as illegal.

[Grosseschnauzer]

Quote: At the moment then with Mik's vote change the tally is 5-5-1.[/quote]

And no other members have come in to vote, so we have a tie.

I am going to ABSTAIN at the UN, unless another IDU member shows up in the next few hours and I catch it in time to then cast the region's vote. Under the circumstances of this resolution, with many members narrowly divided individually about aspects of this proposal, I think an abstention is the appropriate choice.