Torsten Bell, the British minister, clarified on Friday in the BBC Radio program “Today” that the Labour government’s election manifesto did not set a concrete timeline for introducing the full minimum wage for all over-18s, as reported by the Guardian. Bell was responding to a debate triggered by a report from former minister Alan Milburn.
Milburn had presented a report on youth unemployment on Thursday and suggested that the government might need to soften its promise to abolish age bands in the minimum wage to encourage more companies to hire young people. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) called any reduction in the minimum wage for young workers a mistake.
The Labour manifesto states: “We will abolish the discriminatory age bands, so that all adults are entitled to the same minimum wage.” Bell said: “The manifesto sets out that we should align the rates over time. It does not set a timeline for that, because that is the important job of the independent Low Pay Commission.” When asked by Justin Webb whether the public understood this as implementation by the end of the parliamentary term, Bell replied: “No, that is not in our manifesto, Justin. But it is an understandable mistake. It is a long document.”
The debate highlights an internal conflict within the Labour Party over the implementation of a key election promise. Milburn’s final report with policy recommendations is expected in the autumn.
Source: www.theguardian.com
