Equal pay decision could be delayed

22/01/2009

The Low Pay Commission has asked for more time to review the National Minimum Wage.

A decision to raise the level was to have been made next month, but the government has accepted a request to delay the decision until May.

Chairman of the commission, Professor Sir George Bain explained the commission would then get to digest new statistics and reports.

"By delaying its report until May, the commission will have access to two month's additional data, including the Bank of England's next inflation report, employee jobs figures for December 2008, GDP figures for the fourth quarter of 2008 and updates on average earnings," he said.

The minimum wage currently stands at £5.73 per hour for over 21-year-olds.

The Trades Union Congress, before the previous increase, said the rise would help one million workers. However, this year unions have expressed their worry that employers could seek to make pay cuts to help scale back costs.

Professor Bain noted things are now different. "This year, the national minimum wage faces up to its first recession," he commented.

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