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Get your free copy04 August 2016, 11:10 AM
- Contender to the Labour leadership, Owen Smith has pledged to raise the current Living Wage to £8.25 per hour in what he describes as the largest payrise “in a generation”
The current Living Wage, introduced by George Osborne, is £7.20 per hour for all adults over the age of 25.
Smith’s pledge will extend to all adults from 18 years of age upwards.
James Lowman, chief executive of ACS said, “The National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage affect thousands of businesses and employees, and they should be set based on a dispassionate assessment of all the economic, social and business factors, rather than being a political football.
“Unfortunately the current government has politicised this issue and greatly limited the powers of the independent Low Pay Commission, and it is not surprising that other political leaders are now quoting suggested minimum pay rates.”
Credit: D Pimborough / Shutterstock.com
