The TUC announced its case for a £15 minimum wage for UK workers today, as the cost of living crisis continues to bite.
Soaring 10.1% inflation has sent the price of goods from food to fuel beyond the reach of many consumers across the country. The trade union advocated for higher wages to be “at the heart of the UK’s economic strategy.”
“We need to transition the economy to high-wage, high-skilled and secure jobs. And shift our economic model away from a reliance on low-paid and insecure work,” said the TUC.
The organisation added the minimum wage should be updated in October 2022 as opposed to its next scheduled update in April 2023.
The minimum wage was introduced in 1999 against opposition from businesses and the Conservative party, who argued the implementation would lead to job losses across the country.
However, there has been no evidence to back up the claim in the last two decades. The TUC argued a higher minimum wage would result in higher wages overall rather than a cut in employment availability.
The institution also advocated to raise the target for the minimum wage from 66% of the median wage by 2024 to 75%.
The TUC said since its introduction in 1999 as 47% of the median wage, the country has seen a trend of the minimum wage rising as a percentage of the median wage having a positive impact on wages, without evidence of job losses.
