Minimum wage, minimum commitment

Helen Weatherley bends the Government's ear on Labour's proposals on the minimum wage.

So, no big surprises from Margaret Beckett, announcing the setting of Britain's minimum wage. The Labour Government is now back-pedalling so fast from the election manifesto it's more entitled to wear the yellow jersey than any Tour de France cyclist. The idea of a minimum wage should be to guarantee a decent living income for all. Setting the hourly rate well below that level and with all the caveats and cop-outs being put forward, the whole concept has become a nonsense. £3.60 is nothing more than a token gesture.

Most of us expected little from a New Labour Government and certainly haven't been disappointed but this decision plumbs the depths to which they will go to sell out the principles of a party for the working people. What kind of message does it send to everyone who just wants to work to be independent and to support themselves and their families? With the European decency threshold set at more than £6 an hour, our rate sticks two fingers up at a huge number of Labour voters hoping for decency from this Government.

Of course the ideal solution would be for all the suits involved in fixing the level of the minimum wage to try to live on it for a while, and see what the figures they set mean in human terms. At less than £140 per week, that kind of money probably wouldn't pay these people's mortgages, never mind that they wouldn't have been considered for one in the first place.

And why penalise young people? Where is the justice in setting a lower rate for those under 21? I've yet to see the electric bill saying: "Tick here if you're under 21 because your electricity doesn't cost as much as the old uns". Or perhaps Mr Blair is arranging with his pal Mr Sainsbury for all his tills to have an "under 21" button for 15% off the total.

Not content with this blow, the Government is also including tips within the minimum hourly rate. Hairdressing bosses must be laughing all the way to the bank as they see themselves snipping away at their wage costs. Restaurateurs will be polishing the apples for the pigs' mouths while they work out how much cash they can save.

Union leaders have been proclaiming their commitment to a minimum wage as a great victory achieved by the unions. But unless it is a proper living wage, the victory is a hollow one. Union representatives have been involved in setting the rate recommended by the Low Pay Commission and will argue that they had little choice other than to lose out on the whole issue altogether. But if it is the unions who have been the impetus behind the minimum wage, then they have to be the ones to keep up some momentum to achieve a realistic hourly rate and flex some industrial muscle to do so if that is what it takes. After all, Labour bums are firmly on Government seats now, so there's no excuse for playing along supposedly to keep the electorate happy. Why are union leaders still clutching their caps in their hands?

Yet again the Government is showing that it is listening more to the voice of business than to that of the working people. Well, the answer is that we need to get a bigger loudhailer and send the front benches some Earex. So, pass the syringe gun and hope for Blair's sake that's all anyone shoots at him.

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