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Bill Connor warns
British retailers not to underpay young workers: "We would come down on the employers like a ton of bricks" Leading retail union Usdaw is deeply concerned about estimates that around 170,000 workers aged over 18 are taking home less money than they are legally entitled to. General Secretary Sir Bill Connor says that it is appalling, that some employers are flouting minimum wage law. He underlines that the problem is even worse for a hidden sector of the workforce, 16 and 17-year-olds. The TUC and Low Pay Network revealed the figures last week, as they jointly published a new edition of their enforcement guide to the minimum wage. "The minimum wage is a basic legal right and it is appalling that an estimated 170,000 people are being cheated out of it," Sir Bill Connor commented. "If any Usdaw members were paid below the minimum wage rates, we would come down on the employers like a ton of bricks. Thankfully, that is rarely, if ever, the case." "Usdaw officials are able to negotiate good basic rates for our 16 and 17-year-old members, but it is left to employers' goodwill and common decency for those not in trade unions. "We are aware that some 16 and 17-year-olds are paid poverty rates. Recent Usdaw research found some workers aged 16 and 17 were on pay rates as low as £1.33 per hour. That is why Usdaw wants this vulnerable age group to be brought within the minimum wage legislation." The Low Pay Commission is currently consulting on the pros and cons of setting legal minimum wage rates for 16 and 17-year-olds. Usdaw will submit its case - including evidence from an extensive research project into low pay of workers aged 16 and 17 - at the end of this month. Notes:
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