LABOUR PROMISES PAY RISE OF UP TO £6,000 TO MINIMUM WAGE WORKERS
Labour claims its "real" living wage will give workers a pay rise of up to almost £6,000.
The party has vowed to give workers who earn the national minimum wage at least £9,000 more by 2024 than the Tories.
Workers who currently earn a minimum wage job would get an immediate pay rise of between £3,444 and £5,986 under the party's plans.
Their promise to immediately introduce a £10-an-hour Real Living Wage for all workers over 16 will give approximately 7.5 million people a pay rise, including more than 1.2 million young people, according to their analysis of ONS figures on earnings.
The current minimum wage for people 25 and over is £8.21, while for 16 to 17-year-olds it is £4.35.
Workers 25 and over will get an average pay rise of £3,444, while 16 to 18-year-olds will get an average pay rise of £3,497, the party said, adding that 18 to 20-year-olds will get an average pay rise of £5,986, and 21 to 24-year-olds will get an average pay rise of £4,485.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "Labour's Real Living Wage will put more money into the pockets of the workers that need it most and give a boost to the economy.
"Over the last decade, the Tories have allowed in-work poverty to soar and left millions in insecure jobs.
"Labour will deliver real change for the many, not the few."
Cat Smith, Labour's shadow minister for youth affairs, said: "A decade of Tory austerity has made life much harder for young people, with many young workers crippled with debt and resorting to food banks.
"Thousands of young workers face out-and-out discrimination, receiving lower wages than older colleagues for the same day's work.
"We believe all young people deserve a wage they can live on and that workers should be rewarded for their work, not their age.
"The next Labour government will stand up for young workers by abolishing the youth rate of the minimum wage and immediately introducing a Real Living Wage of £10 per hour for everyone from the age of 16."
Published: by Radio NewsHub