I can not think of any industry in which job specific "minimum wages" are set, so there is little or no chance of any government regulation of that issue. However, for safety critical jobs, there is no reason why the government cannot order that all worked hours be computed and maximum's set. Pilot fatigue is a proven factor in a number of accidents and may well be a factor in the recent accident in Buffolo.
I am not sure that some of the ground handling jobs reach the safety critical level of pilots, (although aircraft engineers might be one which does). The educational standard of the existing employees suggest that it can't be that safety critical, because many of the ground employees are frankly stupid and lack any common sense.
I would argue that the FAA should regulate the total hours that a pilot, ATC controller and aircraft engineer can work in a given week. This would prevent "moonlighting" and would significantly reduce the pool of people available to work. The market would the push up wages.
It is a bizarre anomoly that in many countries and states, pilots can work longer total hours and longer continuous hours than a truck driver!
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