What the media says about me...

"Independent minded."

Quentin Letts, Daily Mail, December 2004

MP Welcomes Increase in Minimum Wage

Tags: minimum wage | Press Release | tax credits

Wednesday, 05 March 2008 00:00

Pendle MP, Gordon Prentice, today welcomed news that the adult National Minimum Wage (NMW) rate is to rise from £5.52 to £5.73. The rate for 18-21 year olds will also increase from £4.60 to £4.77, while the 16-17 year old rate will rise from £3.40 to £3.53. Nearly one million low paid employees, two thirds of them women, will benefit from the increase. The Government is also to beef up enforcement of the Minimum Wage and is planning new penalties for rogue employers who underpay staff as part of the Employment Bill, now before the Parliament. Speaking from Westminster, the MP said: “The Minimum Wage which was introduced in 1998 has made a real difference in making work pay, especially in places such as Pendle which for years was a low pay blackspot. Those who criticised the Minimum Wage and warned that it would cost millions of jobs have been proved wrong.”” Note to Editors: There are 3.4 million more jobs than in 1997 and 600,000 children have been lifted out of poverty as a result of measures to tackle social injustice and ensure fairness at work while keeping the economy strong and competitive Around one million workers have benefited from the minimum wage each year since its introduction. Together with the Working and Child Tax Credits, the national minimum wage will currently guarantee that every family with one child and one person in full-time work will receive a minimum income of £276 per week from October 2007, up from £182 in April 1999.