TUC welcomes new simpler minimum wage rules

Commenting on the government’s new minimum wage remit for the Low Pay Commission published today (Wednesday), TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“With figures suggesting that nearly a quarter of apprentices get paid less than the law says they should, we welcome moves to simplify the system. This would prevent employers who cheat their apprentices out of the minimum wage from using the excuse that they didn’t understand they had to pay it.

“There must be no hiding place for exploitative employers who pretend to take on staff as apprentices yet never offer them a single hour of training, just so they can source labour on the cheap.

“The UK economy needs highly trained individuals if it is to continue to grow, and this will only happen if we can guarantee all young people good quality apprenticeships on decent rates of pay.

“And now the economy is finally growing again, and with years of falling real wages taking its toll on household incomes, we can well afford to see a substantial increase in the minimum wage next year.”

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