Tory Threat to the National Minimum Wage
In Parliament last week, senior Conservatives MPs introduced a Bill which would effectively scrap the National Minimum Wage.
The group of MPs led by the former minister and shadow cabinet member Christopher Chope MP have put forward a Ten Minute Rule bill which would make the National Minimum Wage (currently set at £5.73) effectively redundant by allowing employees to opt out of receiving the minimum wage in the same way that they may opt out of the maximum 48 hour working week.
Labour’s introduction of the minimum wage back in 1998 was a groundbreaking step in overcoming poverty and ending the tyranny of low pay. When the NMW came into being, wages of as little as £1.20 an hour were common and legal – that’s just £1.38 an hour in today’s prices!
The minimum wage has both protected workers and raised living standards for the worst off in society. Its introduction was bitterly opposed by the Tories, but contrary to their predictions, the minimum wage has been a resounding economic success. As well as providing an increased incentive for getting back to work, it has resulted in firms being keener to invest in their employees.
The minimum wage has also created a more motivated and productive workforce. Since its introduction, the rate of the minimum wage has increased steadily, helping an increasing number of workers. The 2007 increase alone benefited over 70,000 earners in London.
But Conservative MPs have shown they want to put this all in jeopardy. It is difficult to imagine the last decade without the minimum wage, and the inroads the government has made into child poverty would have been impossible if it had not been in place. In the current situation, with individuals and families under increased economic pressure, the fact Conservatives politicians are considering such policies is baffling and seriously worrying. The last thing we need is a return of poverty pay.
