TAMESIDE MPs are leading the fight for better wages as current levels ‘drag down living standards and hurt our high streets.’
Stalybridge and Hyde’s Jonathan Reynolds, the country’s Business Secretary, is at the forefront of the Government’s plans to deliver a genuine living wage for working people.
And parliamentary neighbour, Ashton-under-Lyne’s Angela Rayner, believes new considerations for the Low Pay Commission (LPC) when recommending next year’s National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage are a real step forward.
Labour says three million workers benefitted from last year’s decision to include the cost of living in the LPC’s remit for the first time as it led to a record cash increase in the Minimum Wage for apprentices and those under 18 and a £1,400 annual boost for full-time workers on the National Living Wage from April.
New measures announced on Tuesday, August 5 work towards the Government’s commitment to delivering a single adult pay band.
The LPC will consult with employers, trade unions and workers on narrowing the gap between the 18–20-year-old rate of the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage and will put forward recommendations on achieving a single adult rate in the years ahead.
The remit will also ensure that the LPC continues to actively consider the cost of living in its recommendations for National Living Wage rates to apply from April 2026.
And Mr Reynolds said: “Low pay drags down living standards for our workers and in turn hurts our high streets and local businesses.
“This Government’s Plan for Change will put money back in people’s pockets, with this new remit marking the next step in considering how we ensure a fair deal for our lowest paid workers while maintaining a competitive economy that boosts businesses and their employees alike.”
Labour believes higher wages for the lowest-paid workers not only provide greater financial security for families but also mean more money in the pockets of working people to spend on the things they need.
In turn, that will support businesses and drive economic growth across the country as part of the Plan for Change.
And Ms Rayner added: “We promised to make low pay a thing of the past, and deliver a wage people can live on, and that is exactly what this government is determined to deliver.
“We have already taken bold action to Make Work Pay with more than 3 million workers seeing a huge boost in their pay following our increase to National Minimum and Living Wage.
“This remit is the next milestone in our plan to get more money in working people’s pockets, raise living standards in every part of the UK, and get our economy growing.”
Baroness Philippa Stroud, Chair of the LPC, commented: “We are pleased to receive our remit from the Government.
“Already, since the beginning of the year, we have spent significant time speaking with workers and employers, to understand the pressures in the economy and the effects of the most recent increases in the minimum wage.
“We have held a successful call for evidence and received detailed submissions from all sides.
“Our recommendations on the minimum wage are always finely balanced. More than ever, it is important that we draw on first-hand evidence from those affected by our decisions.
“I look forward to working with the rest of the Commission over the autumn to reach a shared view on this evidence and deliver our advice to the Government in October.”
Labour’s plans have been backed by the TUC union, whose general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Boosting the minimum wage isn’t just good for workers – it’s good for business too.
“When low-paid workers have more money in their pockets they spend it locally – supporting shops, cafés and high streets.
“That’s why the government is right to set out its ambition to raise the floor of the minimum wage and end the outdated and unfair youth rates.
“A bolder, more ambitious minimum wage isn’t a risk. It’s the next step in building a fairer, stronger economy where hard work is properly rewarded.”