Labour’s £10 Real Living Wage to give 5.6 million a pay rise
Speaking at Luton Town Football Club on Monday, Jeremy Corbyn will spell out Labour’s commitment to raising the legal minimum wage to at least £10 an hour by 2020.
Labour’s policy will mean:
- 5.6 million workers will receive a pay rise
- Full-time employees currently earning the Government’s National Living Wage will be better off by over £2,500 in 2020
- 21-24 year olds currently earning the National Minimum Wage (NMW) will be better off by over £4,500 in 2020
- Labour’s Real Living Wage (RLW) will most benefit people outside of London and the South-East, with Northern Ireland having the highest proportion of employees effected, followed by the East Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber
- Labour’s RLW would be set by an independent Living Wage Review Body using the same methodology as the current voluntary living wage
- The RLW would apply to all aged 18 and over
Speaking at a visit to Living Wage employer Luton Town FC on Monday, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, will say:
“Low pay blights the lives of huge and growing numbers in our country and fuels widening inequality. The government’s re-branding of the minimum wage to the national living wage hasn’t dealt with the real problems of low pay and rising cost of living.
“That’s why Labour will raise the legal minimum wage for all to at least £10 an hour by 2020, giving more than five and a half million people a pay rise in the process.
“Labour’s Real Living Wage will immediately boost the incomes and opportunities of more than 20% of the workforce, especially in sectors such as retail, care and hospitality.
“We know that where work pays, living standards rise and reliance on benefits falls. This is the right thing to do and a Labour government will be committed to rebalancing our economy so that no one and no community is left behind.”
John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, commenting, said:
“Theresa May promised to be a champion of working people; she has failed. The Tories are taking the country backwards; Labour will stand up for working families making them £2,500 a year better off in 2020.
“Only Labour will take the action needed to end the Tories’ economic failure and introduce a Real Living Wage of £10 an hour by 2020.”