starvation wages

plural noun

1. wages below the level necessary for subsistence.

Word History and Origins

Origin of starvation wages¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

As the president fantasizes about returning America to the Gilded Age, where robber barons extracted the earth’s resources for unimaginable profit while laborers worked for starvation wages, he’s forgetting that his oligarch donors need accurate economic data too.

From Salon

Sure, they’d made their fortunes by paying starvation wages, and by busting union strikes, and by ruthlessly driving their competitors into the ground.

From Literature

He accused the care home sector of paying "starvation wages of £20,000-a -year" to foreign workers and called for the salary threshold for workers coming to the UK to be raised.

From BBC

Tory backbencher Sir Edward Leigh claimed the care home sector was "handing out visas like sweeties" and employing people on "starvation wages" of £20,000.

From BBC

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

From New York Times