Unions make new pay demand for young workers

30/03/2009

Recent graduates and other young workers are facing unfairly low rates of pay, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has claimed.

The group launched its new Young Members Conference with a demand to the government to change the law, allowing 18 to 21-year-olds to claim the minimum wage for whatever job they do.

Currently, the wage is only required to be paid to 22-year-olds and over.

The TUC claimed that the onset of the credit crunch and the recession made introducing the new laws still more important.

In a speech, the group's Kay Carberry said: "The economic downturn is having a disproportionate impact on young people.

"Unemployment has now broken through the two million barrier, and workers under 30 are one of worst affected groups."

TUC figures also show that 70 per cent of 18 to 21-year-olds are in low-paid jobs, together accounting for around 20 per cent of the total low-paid workforce.

The government introduced the national minimum wage, which currently stands at £5.73 an hour, in 1999.

Tags; Income Worries and Debt, Recent Graduate Debt,

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