starvation wages

American  

plural noun

1. wages below the level necessary for subsistence.

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Etymology

Origin of starvation wages

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

The median Googler earned $279,802, hardly starvation wages.

From New York Times

“The Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will come to order and let me get to the point of this hearing. Today in our country, over 60 percent of our people are living paycheck to paycheck, and millions are working for starvation wages,” he began.

From Slate

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernard Sanders of Vermont said rather than the government rescinding the $300-per-week additional unemployment benefit, companies should “end starvation wages.”

From Washington Times

“Workers have not gotten a federal pay raise in more than a decade. We can’t continue to have millions of workers — workers who are disproportionately, people of color, women and essential workers like fast food workers and home health aides — earning starvation wages.”

From Washington Post

“Do they really think that the taxpayers of this country have to subsidize their workers in terms of food stamps, in terms of Medicaid or public housing, because they’re paying starvation wages? We are going to raise those issues,” Sanders said.

From Seattle Times