09.01.14
Osborne warns against ‘self-defeating’ minimum wage increase
The minimum wage should not rise at the expense of jobs, Chancellor George Osborne has said. It follows reports that some ministers, including Iain Duncan-Smith and Treasury minister Sajid Javid want a ‘significant’ above-inflation increase in the minimum wage.
The Low Pay Commission is due to publish its recommendations on the national minimum wage next month.
Speaking during a visit on Thursday to Ridgeway Garages in Enfield, north London, to highlight the forthcoming introduction of the new employment allowance, Osborne said: “I think everyone wants to see an increase in the minimum wage. But it has to be done in a way that doesn't cost jobs, because that would be self-defeating.
“We have a Low Pay Commission as a body that exists to make exactly that judgment. What we have got to do as a country is get the balance right between supporting business, growing our economy and making sure it is a recovery for all, and that is what our long-term plan is all about delivering.”
The minimum wage is currently £6.31 an hour.
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Image c. M Holland