The government has announced today that it is going to
implement the Low Pay Commission’s recommendation to extend the youth rate of
the national minimum wage by 50p an hour.
In October the rate will rise from £3.20 to £3.60 before
rising by another ten pence an hour next October.
The government though rejected the Low Pay Commission’s
claim that the adult rate should start at 21 and not as it currently does at 22-years-old.
It has also only ‘noted’ the commission’s recommendation
that the minimum wage should be reviewed every two-years.
The TUC’s General Secretary John Monks said, “We obviously
welcome the government’s widely anticipated decision to implement the Low Pay
Commission’s recommendations to increase the youth rate.
“But the decision to reject the Low Pay Commission’s
recommendation that the adult rate should start at 21 is extremely perplexing.
The Commission has now called for the adult rate to start at 21 three times and
we can see no arguments to reject this clear call from a body that includes
employers as well as independent experts and trade unionists.”
He continued, “The decision to merely note the
recommendation that the minimum wage should be reviewed every two years is
worrying.
By Paul Nelson.
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