Labour is today announcing that it will extend its Real Living
Wage of £10 per hour to under 18 year olds. Labour will abolish
the ‘youth rate’ of the minimum wage and ensure that workers who
are under the age of 18 are paid a Real Living Wage at the same
rate as their colleagues.
Workers under the age of 18 are currently only entitled to a
minimum wage of £4.35 per hour, just over half the National
Minimum Wage of £8.21 which is only paid to those aged 25 and
over.
Labour’s pledge to extend the Real Living Wage of £10 per hour
will make the average young worker better off by £48.45 per week,
or £2,519 per year.
Average real pay for 16 and 17 year olds is still below its 2006
level, and young workers are more likely to be in insecure work
and on zero hours contracts than their older colleagues.
Labour will use fiscal savings arising from a reduction in the
amount that the Treasury pays out in in-work benefits to provide
targeted support for SMEs to enable them to pay the Real Living
Wage to all staff, guided by the Living Wage Review Body.
The Labour leader will also criticise the Conservatives’ record,
accusing the government of “discriminating against young people”
by trebling tuition fees, scrapping the Education Maintenance
Allowance and failing to tackle the housing crisis.
Announcing the policy at a Young Labour
event in Birmingham, is expected to say:
“Equal pay for equal work is hardly a controversial idea, so why
are we discriminating against young people?
"You don't get a discount at the shops for being under 18. But if
the person serving you on the other side of the counter is young,
they could be on half the wage of their colleagues.
"It's time to end this discrimination. Young people’s work should
be properly valued, not exploited by employers to cut their wage
bill. If they’re doing the job, pay them the wage – the Real
Living Wage.
“So when Labour gets into power, we’ll abolish the Youth Rate of
the minimum wage. Workers should be rewarded for their work, not
their age. Equal rights for workers means just that
– irrespective of age, gender, nationality or race.
"For a 16-year-old currently on the minimum wage, what I’m
announcing today will mean a pay rise from £4.35 an hour this
year under a Tory government, to £10 an hour next year under
Labour – more than double. For the
average 16-17-year-old in employment, that will make them
more than £2,500 a year better off.
"Imagine what that will do for the lives of young people,
especially those from poorer backgrounds. It will be nothing less
than life changing.”
On the Conservatives’ record, is expected to say:
“On issue after issue this Conservative government has failed
young people.
“They’ve trebled your tuition fees. They’ve scrapped your
Education Maintenance Allowance. They’ve made it nearly
impossible to move out of your parents’ home because rents are
sky high. And as for buying a house, that’s an idea from
another generation because they haven’t built any. They’ve closed
youth centres, cut arts funding, and are risking your entire
future by failing to tackle the climate emergency.
“Labour will give young people hope: a Real Living Wage at work,
and education as a right, not a privilege. Because we want
everybody, regardless of their background, to be able to
reach their full potential. That’s what socialism is really
about.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
The current rates for the National Minimum Wage are:
- 25 and over: £8.21
- Adult Rate (21-24): £7.70
- Development Rate (18-20): £6.15
- Youth Rate (under 18): £4.35
Labour has already committed to introducing a statutory Real
Living Wage for all over 18 year olds, which give the lowest-paid
workers a pay rise of more than £2,600 per year under a Labour
government.
Average real pay for 16 and 17 year olds is still below its 2006
level, and young people are disproportionately likely to be in
insecure work and employed on zero hours contacts
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2018, Tables 6.5a and
6.9a:
Analysis by the Low Pay Commission shows that unemployment for
16-17 year olds fell following increases in the Youth Rate of the
minimum wage in October 2016 and April 2017, and is at a historic
low.
