Labour will tackle low pay, pledges Umunna

22 Sep 14
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna has said that proposals to increase the minimum wage to £8 an hour will form part of the next Labour government’s ‘driving purpose’ to tackle levels of low pay across the country.

By Richard Johnstone in Manchester | 22 September 2014

Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna has said that proposals to increase the minimum wage to £8 an hour will form part of the next Labour government’s ‘driving purpose’ to tackle levels of low pay across the country.

Speaking to the party’s annual conference, Umunna said that yesterday’s announcement by Labour leader Ed Miliband that the party would commit to increase the National Minimum Wage to from £6.50 an hour to £8 would restore dignity to work.

Setting out the plan yesterday, Miliband said a Labour government would commit to the increase by 2020, with the Low Pay Commission tasked with planning the increases over the parliament in consultation with businesses.

Umunna said this would help ensure there were better paid and more secure jobs across the country.

As well as increasing the value of the minimum wage, he also confirmed that a Labour government would provide incentives to employers to pay the Living Wage, which is set at £7.65, and £8.80 in London.

Both Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne like to boast about positive job numbers, Umunna said. But he went on: ‘They ignore what it’s like to work in our country today – 1.3 million working part-time because they can’t find a full time job.

‘People taking two jobs to make ends meet. Over 1.4 million zero hours contracts. No wonder people are so worried.’

Also speaking to delegates, shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves said the increase of the NMW to £8 an hour would help tackle the fact that the real-terms reduction in its value over this parliament had increased payments of tax credits and other benefits by £270m a year.


Spacer

CIPFA logo

PF Jobsite logo

Did you enjoy this article?

AddToAny

Top