Record breaking minimum wage increases welcomed by Usdaw

Paddy Lillis – Usdaw general secretary says: “Usdaw very much welcomes these significant pay increases for the lowest paid, after a three-year long cost of living crisis under the Tories. We are pleased that Labour’s new remit for the Low Pay Commission has resulted in progress towards delivering a statutory real living wage and started on the road to ending rip-off youth rates. Usdaw has consistently campaigned for a legal minimum hourly rate of over £12 per hour, so we are pleased to see that achieved within months of Labour being elected. We are now looking for a roadmap to achieve £15.

“Labour in government has already started to deliver the new deal for workers that Usdaw long campaigned for. The Employment Rights Bill will help secure economic growth by improving productivity after years of stagnation and stop rogue employers undercutting those who treat their staff properly. Labour’s Bill will also give workers security, respect and the decency of an income they can live on. These are welcome protections for workers that should help them through future economic shocks. This is the transformational change that the country voted for, after 14 years of Tory chaos, austerity and attacks on workers’ rights.”