NMW to rise by 2%

Unless an incoming government decides to alter the decision, the National Minimum Wage (NMW) is set to rise by 2.2% to £5.93 an hour for adult workers on 1 October this year. Increases of 1.9% (to £4.92) and 2% (£3.64) will apply to under-21s and 16-17-year olds, respectively. There will also be a new apprentice minimum wage of £2.50 an hour.

Brendan Barber, TUC general secretary, also welcomed the Labour Party’s manifesto commitment to pin future rises in the NMW to at least the level of increases in average earnings. “It is good to rule out letting the minimum wage fall behind average earnings,” he said. USDAW shop workers’ union commented: “All workers deserve to be valued and a decent NMW is one of the benchmarks of a decent society.”