Third and State

At a conference a few weeks ago, I learned about an intriguing effort to bring more transparency to the global labor market. The project, known as WageIndicator.org, was started about 10 years ago by researchers, journalists and trade unionists in The Netherlands. Today the project can be found in 55 countries, including the U.S. where it is called Paywizard.org.

What is it exactly? It's a web site with oodles of information and tools that allow you to share and compare wages, access basic information on the minimum wage and labor rights, and look up the salaries of politicians, CEOs and Hollywood stars. You can also take an anonymous online salary survey, which is how the project has built its vast database of jobs and salaries.

The idea behind it is to create a more transparent labor market where workers can easily understand their rights and check to see if they are getting paid a fair wage for the work they're doing. The project is overseen by the Wage Indicator Foundation, established by the University of Amsterdam.

So take a minute and check out the salary calculator to see how your pay stacks up against others in your field. You can also help them expand their database by taking the online survey.

Then take a peak at the paychecks of your favorite Hollywood power couple. So who's raking in more: Beyonce and Jay-Z or Brangelina? And for our friend and fellow blogger, Stephen Herzenberg, the salaries of the most famous cricketers.