George Osborne has set out plans to cut welfare spending and increase some taxes - but also boost the minimum wage - in the first Tory Budget since 1996.
The Living Wage, which starts at £7.20 next April and rises to £9 an hour by 2020, will be compulsory and replaces the minimum wage which is now £6.50.
BBC: Osborne unveils 'national living wage'
Rhys Moore, director,Living Wage Foundation said:
“We are delighted that the announcement made in the Budget this lunchtime will see over 2.5 million workers receive a much needed pay rise. This is a massive victory for Citizens UK and those communities, workers and business leaders who have campaigned for a Living Wage since 2001. We agree with the Chancellor that work should be the surest way out of poverty. However, this announcement raises several important questions.
“Is this really a Living Wage? The Living Wage is calculated according to the cost of living whereas the Low Pay Commission calculates a rate according to what the market can bear. Without a change of remit for the Low Pay Commission this is effectively a higher National Minimum Wage and not a Living Wage.
Comments