Average wage is the

mean There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value ( magnitude and sign) of a given data set. For a data set, the '' ar ...

salary A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis. F ...

of a group of

workers The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic reg ...

. This measure is often monitored and used by government or other organisations as a benchmark for the wage level of individual workers in an industry, area or country. The usefulness of this measure in assessing wage levels is debatable, particularly in an economy where

low pay A wage is payment made by an employer to an Worker, employee for work (human activity), work done in a specific period of time. Some examples of wage payments include wiktionary:compensatory, compensatory payments such as ''minimum wage'', ''p ...

is prevalent, due to the tendency for the wages of a minority of high earners to 'skew' the average upwards. It has been argued that the median (midpoint) worker's wage is a better indicator in these circumstances; this measure is used in the UK by both the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for ...

and the Scottish Low Pay Unit in examining wage levels. Certain UK organisations, usually

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

or left-of-centre political groups, have traditionally had a policy that members should never accept wages higher than the wage of the average working class person whilst being employed by that organisation or in a representative capacity. Deputies and officials paid an average worker's wage are also a feature of the

Dictatorship of the Proletariat In Marxist philosophy, the dictatorship of the proletariat is a condition in which the proletariat holds state power. The dictatorship of the proletariat is the intermediate stage between a capitalist economy and a communist economy, whereby the ...

described in Marx's account of the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defende ...

The Civil War in France "The Civil War in France" (German: "Der Bürgerkrieg in Frankreich") was a pamphlet written by Karl Marx, as an official statement of the General Council of the International on the character and significance of the struggle of the Communards in ...

, as well as in Lenin's The State and Revolution commentary on Marx's pamphlet, although not all people who draw an average workers wage subscribe to Marxist principles. This idea is based on the idea that

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

s (or

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

officials) are there to serve the people of the country rather than earn themselves a fortune and/or raise their status (also known as

careerism Careerism is the propensity to pursue career advancement, power, and prestige outside of work performance. Cultural environment Cultural factors influence how careerists view their occupational goals. How an individual interprets the term "caree ...

). Proponents claim that high wages for politicians are a waste of

taxpayer A taxpayer is a person or organization (such as a company) subject to pay a tax. Modern taxpayers may have an identification number, a reference number issued by a government to citizens or firms. The term "taxpayer" generally characterizes o ...

s' money and distance the politician from the concerns of the working class. Examples of people taking only an average worker's wage are

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of ...

politician Joe Higgins, former MP

Dave Nellist David John Nellist (born 16 July 1952) is a British Trotskyist activist who was the MP for the constituency of Coventry South East from 1983 to 1992. Elected as a Labour MP, his support for the Militant tendency led to his eventual expulsion f ...

in the UK,

John Marek John Marek (born 24 December 1940) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wrexham from 1983 to 2001, and the Member of the Welsh Assembly (AM) for Wrexham from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Labour Party until ...

Forward Wales Forward Wales ( cy, Cymru Ymlaen) was a socialist political party operating in Wales. It evolved from the John Marek Independent Party (JMIP), formed by the ex- Labour member of the Welsh Assembly, John Marek who was the party's national conven ...

Welsh Assembly The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh ...

member for Wrexham, and

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gr ...

politicians in Ireland. In '' The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists'', Robert Tressell notes that the Labour Representation Committee MPs of the day took only an average workers' wage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Average Worker's Wage Socialism Wages and salaries

See also

References