TUC urges government to increase minimum wage to £15

Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Tuesday (23) has set out a plan for pay growth underpinned by a £15 minimum wage as workers struggle to stay afloat.

The plead to the government comes as many workers have taken industrial action as unions have raised frustrations over declines in real pay and amid rising inflation.

TUC is also calling for the minimum wage to be uprated by at least inflation this October – as opposed to April next year when the uprating was due. The minimum wage began life in 1999 against a backdrop of opposition from Tories, business groups, and even some economists.

"But since then, we have proven that the minimum wage is effective. It has delivered pay increases for the lowest paid workers, without causing job losses. There is now a widespread consensus in favour of the minimum wage. This reaches across academic experts and across political divides," TUC said.

The government must deliver a return to normal wage growth so workers get proper pay rises for the first time in over a decade. TUC added that workers need to see sustained pay growth, year on year, so that median wages reach £20 an hour as soon as possible. This will underpin our £15 minimum wage.

TUC believes government should raise its target for the minimum wage. The current target is 66 per cent of median wages by 2024. The obvious next step is 75 per cent.

Recently, Sainsbury’s stores across Scotland and Northern Ireland saw disruption as DHL workers were set to strike, having rejected the offer of a pay rise which amounted to a cut in real terms.

Last week, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also revealed that workers saw their pay fall behind inflation at a record rate over the three months to June.

Regular pay, excluding bonuses, increased by 4.7 percent over the quarter but failed to keep up with soaring inflation, which hit 9.4 percent in June and accelerated to another 40-year high last month.