Labour members have voted in favour of introducing a £15 national minimum wage if the party gains power.
The vote, which does not mean the party is required to change its policy, was held after the Unite union put forward a motion calling for it to increase the minimum wage to £15 per hour and to back job creation.
Under current Labour policy, the party would introduce a £10 per hour minimum wage for all ages if it gains control at the next general election.
The national minimum wage is currently £8.91 for workers aged 23 and over, £8.36 for 21-22 year olds, £6.56 for 18-20 year olds, £4.62 for 16-17 year olds, and £4.30 for apprentices.
It has been reported that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is not in favour of increasing its proposed minimum wage to £15 per hour.
He said: “It should be a £10 minimum wage – that’s a 12% increase [meaning] £2,000 a year for working families.”
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Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had urged Starmer to back the proposed increase, and said it should be something the party supported and campaigned for.
Corbyn told the BBC: “We live in a low-wage economy and a low-wage economy leads to poverty. We live in a society now with more food banks than branches of McDonald’s. That’s where we have got to.”
It was also reported that Labour leaders urged members to vote against the increase. MP Andy McDonald resigned from shadow cabinet, claiming he had been ordered to argue against the rise.
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Earlier this year the Low Pay Commission said the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and flexible furlough, had increased the risk of employers breaching national minimum wage legislation.
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