Shopkeepers
union Usdaw has told the Low Pay Commission that the National Minimum Wage
(NMW) should be increased and paid to all staff aged 18 and above.
Deputy
general secretary John Hannett said the NMW should be set at a level between
£4.84 and £5.38.
He
also recommended that 16 and 17-year-old staff receive a fixed percentage of
the adult wage.
"We
want to close the loophole which allows mean-minded employers to pay employees
over the age of 22 the adult rate," Hannett said.
"The
current rules make the UK look like a third-world economy based on cheap labour
and cheap employment practices. Setting the rate at around £5 will help tackle
poverty pay."
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