PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
LOW PAY AND YOUNG WORKERS (13 July 2015)

That this House notes that the National Living Wage policy announced in the 2015 Budget will not improve the incomes of many low paid workers, owing to the simultaneous reductions in working benefits, tax credits and local housing allowance; further notes that the respected Institute of Fiscal Studies calculates that these measures will affect 13 million families who will each lose around £260 per year; observes that, with the London Living Wage, as determined by the independent Living Wage Commission, currently standing at £9.15, the new policy will still fail to guarantee a basic minimum standard of living for workers in some parts of the country beyond 2020; regrets that workers under 25 are not even offered this inadequate protection; condemns the exploitative rates of pay which young workers will continue to receive, with 16-17 year olds currently guaranteed just £3.87 per hour and apprentices paid a shocking £2.80 per hour; and therefore calls on the National Living Wage to be introduced at the rate of £10 an hour immediately with no exemptions for age.

Sponsored by:
Ian Lavery (Labour)