商务英语中级新闻阅读（13）

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英国最低工资减少工资差别
7 L* h3 {2 i5 e; `! G　　牛津大学(Oxford University)的一份报告显示，引入最低工资已导致薪资级别受到挤压，这“在消除工资差别，同时在影响对高技能的奖赏和激励。”
　　The introduction of the minimum wage has led to pay levels being compressed, “destroying differentials and removing rewards and incentives for improving skills”, according to a report by Oxford University.
　　英国零售商协会(British Retail Consortium)委托进行的这项研究显示，接待行业96%的员工以及零售和批发行业75%的员工拿到的都是最低工资，今年10月，英国最低工资将升至时薪5.35英镑至5.52英镑。
　　The study, commissioned by the British Retail Consortium, found that 96 per cent of workers in the hospitality industry and 75 per cent of retail and wholesale workers earned the minimum wage, which is due to rise from ￡5.35 to ￡5.52 an hour in October.
　　自1999年实行最低工资标准以来，英国最低工资已提高46%，为逾100万员工提供了经济安全保障。欧盟(EU)统计机构欧盟统计局(Eurostat)的一份报告显示，在20个欧盟成员国中，英国最低工资水平排名第三，几乎是美国联邦标准的两倍。
5 B( u# N& }; b6 B3 n+ ~　　Britain’s minimum wage, which has risen by 46 per cent since it was introduced in 1999, provides a financial safety net for more than 1m workers. It is the third highest out of 20 European Union nations and almost twice the US federal level according to a report from Eurostat, the EU’s statistical arm.
　　英国零售商协会表示，低收入委员会(Low Pay Commission)确定最低工资水平的方法，应考虑到一个事实：即最低工资已成为数十万员工的工资标准，而非基本工资基数。
) c. S/ E5 L7 t* {& E( v0 ?  W0 v　　The BRC says the way rates are set by the Low Pay Commission should take into the account the fact that the minimum wage has become the norm rather than a basic pay floor for hundreds of thousands of workers.
　　英国零售商协会会长凯文?霍金斯(Kevin Hawkins)表示，遏制通胀因素的最低工资涨幅已开始影响到雇主创造新就业岗位的能力。英国零售商协会表示，低收入委员会不应“试图成为雇主和工会不同出价之间的裁判”，而是应以各行业薪资中值和生产率的变化为指引。
　　Inflation-busting rises have begun to undermine the ability of employers to create new jobs, says Kevin Hawkins, BRC director-general. The Low Pay Commission instead of “trying to act as a referee between conflicting bids from employers and unions” should be guided by movements in median wages and productivity in individual sectors, says BRC.