Minimum wage earners would receive hundreds of pounds of extra pay under Labour plans
BRITS on the minimum wage would be in line for hundreds of pounds of extra pay to cover the cost of living under Labour plans.
Sir Keir Starmer has drawn up proposals to help the lowest earners get a pay bump.
He wants to order the Low Pay Commission to factor in living costs when setting wages.
The Labour chief would also scrap pay bands for workers under the age of 22 – so 18-year-olds currently on lower rates would be paid the same as older Brits.
The minimum wage is set at £9.50 an hour for those aged 23 and above, £9.18 for 21- and 22-year-olds, and £6.83 for workers between the ages of 18 and 20.
Deputy Labour boss Angela Rayner and Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves wrote in the Guardian: “Young adult workers are still getting a raw deal on pay.
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“Their bills aren’t any cheaper, but they have to make ends meet with less.
“That’s just not fair.”
Labour hasn’t said how much extra people could earn, but the Living Wage Foundation – which calculates a recommended wage based on the price of living – is set at £9.90 an hour.
If they adopted a similar suggestion, it would mean a 23-year-old worker taking home more than £800 a year extra.