TUC welcomes new simpler minimum wage rules
19 Jun 2014 12:43 PM
Commenting on the
government’s new minimum wage remit for the Low Pay Commission published
yesterday (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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