Unions want £6 minimum wage

The Trades Union Congress has suggested that the Low Pay Commission should increase the National Minimum Wage to £6 next year and that the adult rate should apply at age 18 and not 22 as at present. And, anticipating a negative reaction from businesses, the TUC noted that every rise since 1999 has been absorbed with no adverse effect on the economy. Unions want the maximum fine for employers flouting the law to be significantly increased from the current limit of £5000. Earlier this year, the British Retail Consortium cited the minimum wage as a key driver behind the doubling of the cost of employing people in the past decade.

Meanwhile, the British Shops and Stores Association's recent Health of the High Street report warns that the setting of a minimum wage has become a 'black art' known only to the Low Pay Commission. The Association suggests a transparent system of calculation with measurable indices of the variables involved should be published in advance so that counter-arguments can be made.