The minimum wage has raised the salaries of millions of Britain’s lowest earners by £6,000 a year, making it the most successful economic policy in a generation, according to a leading think tank.
The policy has secured bipartisan agreement since Tony Blair’s first Labor government introduced it in 1999 and should be seen as the basis for further improvements to the welfare of low-wage workers. , the Resolution Foundation said.
The minimum wage will rise from £10.42 to £11.44 on Monday 1 April, the third highest annual change on record, a rise of 9.8% in cash terms and 7.8% above inflation.
in research Announced to mark 25 years since the introduction of the policy, the foundation said that if wages had only increased in line with average wages, rather than the rises recommended by the independent Low Pay Commission, then from 1999 onwards. It said workers’ lives would have been £6,000 worse off a year.
Nye Cominetti, chief economist at the Resolution Foundation, said Congress should use the review of the commission’s powers “to discuss the future of the minimum wage and low wages more broadly ahead of the election.” .
He said: “Politicians should reflect on why the minimum wage has been so successful, including a combination of long-term political direction and independent, expert-led oversight, and recommend this approach to other low-income countries in the UK. “We should think carefully about whether we can scale up to address the wage issue.” Pay the challenge. ”
The foundation said MPs should consider how the level of statutory sick pay is falling compared to average wages and could bring it under the umbrella of the committee.
Some critics of the minimum wage argue that it is too high, while others believe that it is not rising fast enough to reduce poverty in the UK.
The Living Wage Foundation charity is real living wageThis sets a minimum wage of £12 an hour across the UK, and £13.15 in London.
This is aimed at UK workers aged 18 and over, but it is not a legal requirement and companies choose whether to pay it.
The charity says more than 460,000 workers in 14,000 companies currently receive a real living wage.
An International Monetary Fund report on the impact of minimum wages across developed and developing countries found that “decades of research has not settled the debate.”
The report said that while some studies found that minimum wages have significant benefits for workers, “other studies conclude that they are harmful.” Many studies are inconclusive. ”
According to the Resolution Foundation, UK analysis shows that between 1980 and 1998, hourly wages in the UK grew at twice the rate for the highest earners as for the lowest earners, at an annual rate of 3.1% vs. It was 1.4%.
“However, since 1999, this trend has reversed, with wage growth for the lowest earners five times that of the highest earners, 1.6% versus 0.3% per year, and the hourly wage gap narrowed,” the report said.
