- Conference
- 2004 National Delegate Conference
- Date
- 25 February 2004
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference notes that:
1)UNISON’s latest submission to the Low Pay Commission provides a radical and progressive solution to the problem of low paid young workers;
2)UNISON welcomes the government’s decision to introduce a minimum wage for 16 and 17 year olds, from 1 October 2004. However, we are concerned that the government chose to retain the lower rate for workers 18-21 and to set the new rate for under 18s at £3.00 an hour – a rate which will only benefit 7.5 per cent of workers in this age range. A three-tier system will be unfair and will continue to leave young workers open to exploitation;
3)in the submission to the Low Pay Commission, UNISON and the Young Members Christian Association (YMCA) came across many young workers who are left vulnerable to unscrupulous employers due to their lack of coverage by the national minimum wage. The survey also uncovered many students forced to work excessive hours at low pay to survive. This situation will be amplified with the planned introduction of top-up fees;
4)the submission also highlighted some modern apprenticeship schemes, where young workers are paid £40 or £50 per week and receive very little, if any, worthwhile training;
5)the current benefits system discriminates against individuals on the grounds of their age.
6) the National Executive Council, in consultation with service groups, self-organised groups and regions, is committed to regularly updating the UNISON minimum wage figure to provide a strategic target both for campaigning and wage bargaining purposes; the figure to be calculated based on a range of data used in the past, including half-male median earnings, the low cost but acceptable figure for household income; and UNISON policy and bargaining priorities.
Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to press the government for:
a)the abolition of the age rates within the national minimum wage;
b)the extension of the national minimum wage to all those on modern apprenticeships;
c)the national minimum wage to be based on the principle that anyone doing a full job should receive the full rate of the national minimum wage;
d)the commissioning of ongoing research to monitor the pay, conditions, duties, and financial responsibilities of young workers;
e)the commissioning of research into the equalisation of benefits for all people, regardless of their age and the abolition of the limit on housing benefit for those under the age of 25;
f)introduction of stiffer penalties for companies and organisations who continue to exploit young workers by not adhering to the national minimum wage.