上调最低工资让酒吧倒闭？

在英国,大街上的酒吧比比皆是,并被高雅地冠为“酒吧文化”(Pub Culture)而名扬天下。而近期英国酒吧巨头连锁集团威瑟斯本(JDWetherspoon)表示，政府提出强制加薪低薪工人的措施将使酒吧的人力支出大大增加。在竞争尤其激烈的今天，这个全英拥有近900家酒吧行业老大也有可能面临关门的风险。

 

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

dereliction 渎职

Treasury 财政部

Budget Responsibility 预算责任

offset 抵消

subsidise 补贴

VAT 增值税

 

阅读马上开始，建议您计算一下阅读整篇文章所用的时间，对照下方的参考值就可以评估出您的英文阅读水平。

JD Wetherspoon warns ‘living wage' risks leading to pub closures（589words）

By Michael Pooler,Nathalie Thomas and Richard Blackden

 

The owner of Britain's best known chain of drinking establishments has ratcheted up its criticism of the forthcoming rise in the minimum wage,saying it risks putting more financial pressure on pubs,especially those in less prosperous areas.

 

JD Wetherspoon said that the government's proposed compulsory pay rise for low-paid workers placed pubs at a disadvantage compared with supermarkets,because pub wages represent a higher proportion of sales than for supermarkets and their prices are higher.This was likely to have a particular impact in less well-off neighbourhoods,where the price difference between pubs and supermarkets is more important to customers,the company said.

 

“It is certain that high streets in less affluent areas,which already suffer from serious problems of empty shops and dereliction,will suffer further if pubs and other labour-intensive businesses close,” said chairman Tim Martin.

 

Pub wages take up roughly 30 per cent of sales because of the labour-intensive nature of the business,whereas at supermarkets the proportion is only about 10 per cent,said Mr Martin.The comments from the pub group are the latest in a string from businesses about the impact of the “national living wage”.

 

Announced by Chancellor George Osborne in his post-election summer Budget,the minimum wage will rise to £7.20 in April for workers aged 25 and older,and increase to 60 per cent of median earnings in 2020,or about £9. The minimum wage at present is £6.50 for over-21s.

 

The Treasury has said that 2.7m people will receive a direct boost from the measure,but the Office for Budget Responsibility,a fiscal watchdog,estimates that the extra costs could mean up to 60,000 job losses.

 

While economists do not yet see the reform as a significant threat to jobs,employers' organisations warn it will hit profits and is already damping recruitment.

 

Fashion retailer Next and Whitbread,the owner of Costa Coffee and Premier Inn,this week both said they might have to raise prices to offset a higher wage bill. Wetherspoon said it had no immediate plans to raise prices.

 

Mr Martin was one of the first business leaders to attack the living wage shortly after it was announced in July.

 

Wetherspoon detailed how much it has increased staff salaries over the past two years — by 5 per cent last October and 8 per cent in July — to highlight that some employers were already seeking to help those on low wages. About 40 per cent of its profits are paid out as a bonus or free shares to staff,while more than 80 per cent of this year's £30.7m bonus pot will go to employees working in pubs. Basic pay at the company starts at £7 an hour.

 

The FTSE 250 company also took aim at the different tax treatment for pubs and restaurants,which pay 20 per cent VAT on food sales,whereas supermarkets are “virtually” exempt.“This disparity enables supermarkets to subsidise their alcoholic drinks sales to thedetriment of pubs and restaurants……[this is]the biggest danger to the pub industry,” it said.

 

The warning came as Wetherspoon posted a 25 per cent drop in annual pre-tax profit to £58.7m,dragged down by a large number of exceptional items,including restructuring costs.Revenue rose 7.4 per cent to £1.5bn,while like-for-like sales during the year were 3.3 per cent higher. The full-year dividend is being maintained at 12p a share. Wetherspoon's shares have dropped 12 per cent this year,underperforming the FTSE 250 index of medium-sized companies,which has climbed 6 per cent.

 

请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：

 

1.Which bar may feel more financial pressure by JD Wetherspoon's owner?

A.Suburb

B.Downtown

C.Central Business District

D.Bar Street

[1] 答案

2.Which one would have been more affected by government's proposed compulsory pay rise?

A.Supermarkets

B.Shops

C.Pubs

D.Schools

[2] 答案

 

3.How much is the minimum wage now for over-21s?

A.£7.20

B.£6.50

C.£9

D.£2.70

[3] 答案

 

4.What is the purpose of Costa Coffee's price change?

A.to protest the new measures

B.to attract customers

C.to offset a higher wage bill

D.to compete with the supermarket

[4] 答案

 

[1]答案：A.Suburb
解释：文章第一段，不繁华的地区会感受到更大的压力。

[2]答案：C.Pubs
解释：由于价格影响，酒吧会受到更大的影响。

[3]答案：B.£6.50
解释：文章第七段。

[4]答案：C.to offset a higher wage bill
解释：在未来可能会提高咖啡价格以抵消更高的工资账单。