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| Minimum wage: The Low Pay Commission backs a 3% increase | Minimum wage: The Low Pay Commission backs a 3% increase |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Low Pay Commission has recommended a 3% increase in the minimum wage to £6.50 an hour for adults, Business Secretary Vince Cable has told MPs. | The Low Pay Commission has recommended a 3% increase in the minimum wage to £6.50 an hour for adults, Business Secretary Vince Cable has told MPs. |
| Mr Cable said it would be the first increase in real terms since 2008 if the government accepts the proposal. | |
| "It is faster than inflation and that is the first time in six years that has happened," he said. | "It is faster than inflation and that is the first time in six years that has happened," he said. |
| General secretary of the Unite Union, Len McCluskey said: "This increase is a slap in the face for low paid workers." | |
| At present, the minimum wage is £6.31 an hour for adults and £5.03 an hour for 18 to 20-year-olds. | At present, the minimum wage is £6.31 an hour for adults and £5.03 an hour for 18 to 20-year-olds. |
| Mr McCluskey said "An hourly rise of 19p for adults is an insult when the minimum cost of living has increased by a staggering 25% since the beginning of the economic crisis." | |
| The government usually accepts the Low Pay Commission's recommendations. | The government usually accepts the Low Pay Commission's recommendations. |
| In January Chancellor George Osborne told the BBC "I believe Britain can afford an above-inflation increase in the minimum wage, so we restore its real value for people, and so we have a recovery for all, and work always pays." | In January Chancellor George Osborne told the BBC "I believe Britain can afford an above-inflation increase in the minimum wage, so we restore its real value for people, and so we have a recovery for all, and work always pays." |
| Cautious welcome | Cautious welcome |
| However, TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said: "This is a welcome increase in the minimum wage, which starts to recover some of the ground it has lost since 2008. | |
| "We hope this is the first in a series of bolder increases that will give real help to the low paid, and not just a pre-election boost." | "We hope this is the first in a series of bolder increases that will give real help to the low paid, and not just a pre-election boost." |
| Several employers' organisations, the EEF, the CBI and the Forum of Private Business gave the recommendations a cautious welcome. | |
| The British Chambers of Commerce has surveyed its member companies on their attitude towards raising the minimum wage. | The British Chambers of Commerce has surveyed its member companies on their attitude towards raising the minimum wage. |
| Its Executive Director of Policy Dr Adam Marshall said: "After years of pay restraint, companies now feel somewhat more confident when it comes to the question of pay. | Its Executive Director of Policy Dr Adam Marshall said: "After years of pay restraint, companies now feel somewhat more confident when it comes to the question of pay. |
| "So while the Low Pay Commission's recommendation appears to be slightly higher than many employers had hoped, it represents a reasonable compromise." | "So while the Low Pay Commission's recommendation appears to be slightly higher than many employers had hoped, it represents a reasonable compromise." |