THE woman with the black teeth smiled.

A pair of green eyes stared back at me, buried behind the grime etched into a well-weathered face; clearly the road had been a tough journey for this woman.

It was Christmas in New York City, 2014, and that particular year, the winter chill had come early. At times, temperatures would plummet to as low as -20C, and yet there she was, sifting through bins to pick up scraps in the dead of the night. She seemed grateful for the dinner; mere leftovers of my own, but in this town, every bite counts.

It’s a familiar story across America, where the needy are forced to fend for themselves. With few government benefits, and almost certainly no health care or superannuation, these people are provided very little.

It’s been a long fight for the underprivileged across America, but most notably, the fight for a respectful minimum wage.

Last month, reporter Sara Mojtehedzadeh described how her mother once worked with undocumented Mexican migrants for a mere $3 an hour.

It’s an extreme case, but not unfamiliar. Across the United States, the July 2015 minimum average wage was a measly $7.25/hr.

Last July, McDonald’s raised its average hourly pay from $9.01 to $9.90/hr and began offering paid vacations for its 90,000 workers at its company-operated US restaurants.

But in its most recent report, the National Low Income Housing Coalition reported there is not one state or county in the country where the average housing price is affordable to a person working minimum wage.

So what fantastic news for Australia’s lowest paid workers yesterday, who received a 2.4 per cent increase following the Fair Work Commission’s life on the national minimum wage.

That increases Australia’s 1.8 million minimum wage workers’ salaries up to an impressive $17.70/hr.

Across the world, Australia is paving the way for the poor, despite the drop in proportion of the average wage from 62 per cent to 53 per cent.

Despite the fact the wage increase was half of what the ACTU wanted, perspective is important here.

When it comes to other countries, we are above and beyond the minimum wage rates. Can you imagine surviving on these petty paypackets?

AUSTRALIA: $17.70 per hour, as of July 1, 2016.

Australia’s lowest paid workers will get $15.80 extra a week, after the Fair Work Commission handed down its annual minimum wage decision.

UNITED STATES:$9.95 per hour*

Federal law requires American workers to be paid a minimum $7.25/hr, a standard that has not been raised since 2009. But each state differs, with rates falling as low as $5.15/hr in Wyoming, to $10.50/hr in DC.

UNITED KINGDOM: $6.61 per hour*

Apprentices fall to the bottom of the barrel in the UK, while under 18s aren’t that much better off with a slight increase at $7.74.

CANADA: $11.04 per hour*

The federal rate sits at $10.50 per hour but can change depending on the territory. The highest rate of pay sits at $13.00 in Nanavut.

CHINA: $1.57 per hour*

Similarly to the United States and Canada, rates vary depending on the province, but it’s highest rate still sits at a dismal $3.92.

INDIA: $3.27 per day*

As of July 1, 2015 the National Floor Level of Minimum Wage has been raised to 160 rupees per day.

JAPAN: $8.59 per hour*

Again, the rate varies on where you live, with the lowest rate sitting at 693 yen in Tottori, Kochi, Miyazaki and Okinawa.

SOUTH KOREA: $7.00 per hour*

The minimum wage has raised significantly in South Korea since 2006, when the minimum wage sat at 3100 South Korean Won, or AU$3.58.

MEXICO: $5.43 per hour*

Mexico has a general minimum wage of 73.04 pesos per hour, but can vary depending on profession. The highest professions, being journalists and “electrical home appliance repairers” equal 218.87 pesos an hour (AU$16.28 per hour).

*Prices converted to Australian dollars.