Uk minimum wage increase.
The escalating food and energy bills are putting pressure on household finances around the world. In the UK it’s just been announced that the minimum wage will rise to £5.73 in October. This is a 3.8% rise from £5.52 - for 18 to 21-year-olds the rate will be £4.77, up from £4.60, while 16 to 17-year-olds will get £3.53, up from £3.40.
Two thirds of the one million people benifitting from the increase will be women. Business Secretary John Hutton was quoted saying “The national minimum wage remains one of the most important rights introduced by the Government in the last decade. Before it was introduced, some workers could expect to be paid as little as 35 pence an hour. Our legislation has ensured that can no longer happen. I am proud of the minimum wage. It makes a real difference to the lives of many of our lowest-paid workers and protects them from exploitation. It also creates a level playing field for business and boosts the economy.”
The government will be using an unlimited fine system introduced to crack down on employers not paying the correct amount thus exploiting their workers. The TUC said it believed 150,000 workers were still being paid less than the statutory minimum. Unions have long called for enforcement powers in this area to be strengthened with more than £27m in unpaid wages being recovered on behalf of 80,000 workers since 1999.
