Save the Minimum Wage from the Tories

“Join the campaign, sign the petition and save the minimum wage from the Tories”, urged David Williams, Labour's Parliamentary Candidate for Crewe and Nantwich.

A Tory Bill has been introduced in the House of Commons that will totally undermine the minimum wage and drive millions of workers back to poverty pay. David Williams is now asking all Crewe and Nantwich people to save the minimum wage by signing the petition launched today at www.wageconcern.com.

The Employment Opportunities Bill, tabled by Senior Conservative Christopher Chope, who as a minister helped bring in the Poll Tax, is timetabled for its second reading in Parliament next Friday 15 May.

David Williams continued:

“The minimum wage provides valuable income protection and security for millions of workers in Crewe and Nantwich. It stops unscrupulous employers from driving down wages and leaving workers on poverty pay. This new Tory Bill would allow employers to opt out of their responsibility to their staff to pay a fair days wage for a fair days work.

“This shows the Tories in their true light and is an insight into what a Conservative Government would do. They always opposed the introduction of a minimum wage and they are still fighting that battle. David Cameron talks about an age of austerity, well we now know that he means it for low-paid workers."

The Labour Government introduced the National Minimum Wage in 1999 to ensure decent wages for the low paid and to create a level playing field for employers so that better employers could not be undercut by the worst payers.

Following the last Conservative Government’s abolition of the Wages Councils in 1993 there had been no legal protection for wages and in some areas low skilled jobs were routinely paid at less than £2 an hour.

The introduction of the National Minimum Wage in 1999 at a rate of £3.60 gave over 2 million workers an immediate pay rise. Millions more have since benefited every year as the rate has increased by almost 60% over 10 years to £5.73 an hour today.

If you think you are not getting your entitlement please phone the National Minimum Wage helpline on 0845 6000 678. They're open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.

Please click here to sign our petition to save the minimum wage from the Tories.