Pay workers at least £5.35 per hour

Trade union Usdaw, which organises largely in sectors where the National Minimum Wage has a major impact, today called for all workers to be paid at least £5.35 per hour.

Usdaw, one of the UK's biggest unions, has submitted its evidence to the Low Pay Commission, which is carrying out a consultation exercise before recommending new minimum rates to the Government. After researching the impact of previous minimum rate rises, Usdaw now calls for:

• The adult rate of the National Minimum Wage to be uprated to a secure flat rate that is in the £5.35 to £5.95 per hour range.

• The lower rate for 18 to 21 year-olds to be abolished altogether and for the full adult rate to be paid from the age of 18.

• The young workers' rate (for those aged 16 or 17) to be set at around 80 per cent of the rates given to workers aged 18 and above.

Usdaw has also submitted research that pours cold water on some employers' suggestions that further increases in the National Minimum Wage will lead to job losses and company failures.

"We've been here before with this sort of scare-mongering from employers' organisations," said Usdaw General Secretary John Hannett. "The facts speak for themselves in this regard. In the six months following the 30 pence per hour increase in the National Minimum Wage in October 2003, employment in retailing went up, not down, by a staggering 86,000. The National Minimum Wage has been one of the big success stories of recent years, and has made a valuable contribution to combating low pay levels. Usdaw wants the Low Pay Commission to make bold recommendations that would make major inroads to eradicating low pay."

Notes to Editors:

• Usdaw (the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union, with over 339,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in retail, although the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, dairy process, chemicals, call centres and other trades.

• The current National Minimum Wage rates are £4.85 per hour for workers aged 22 and above, £4.10 per hour for workers aged 18 to 21, and £3 per hour for workers aged 16 and 17.

• More information and news releases are available at our online Newsroom.

• For more information and the latest news on the campaign, visit the National Minimum Wage campaign area of our web site.

• Journalists can subscribe to receive Usdaw news releases via our online e-news service.

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© 2003 (USDAW) Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
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