Comment: Minimum pay has had huge benefits

THE introduction of the minimum wage was a great step forward and has helped a million people.

But that is not enough. It is now time to be bolder. We want to double that number and make sure that two million low-paid workers enjoy the benefit of a guaranteed hourly rate.

The minimum wage is going up shortly from its current rate of pounds 4.10 to pounds 4.20 an hour. But that's still a very modest amount.

There was a huge amount of scaremongering when the minimum wage was introduced. Critics claimed it would destroy jobs, put people out of work and shut down businesses. That is simply not true. I am still waiting for an apology from the Conservative Party and the other knockers who warned it would be a disaster.

The huge benefits that raising the minimum wage to between pounds 5 and pounds 5.30 an hour would bring to those workers and their families would far outweigh any impact on jobs.

We believe we can convince the Low Pay Commission of the urgency of a significant increase. The Commission is due to make its recomm endations shortly and then the Government must jump to it and deliver that increase.

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