Unison criticises new minimum wage rate

Trade
union Unison has criticised the Government for not increasing the national
minimum wage (NMW) to £6 a hour.

The
Government has announced the adult NMW is to increase 40p to £4.50 an hour.

Dave
Prentis, general secretary of Unison, described the move as a "small
step".

"The
Government has missed the chance to be more courageous and move to a more
realistic rate. If they want to close the poverty gap, the simplest way to do
it would be to raise the minimum wage to a living wage of £6 an hour.

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"Despite
the Government’s claims, not enough people will benefit from this latest
increase and the tax payer will still have to subsidise low-paying employers
through in-work benefits."

By Paul Nelson