Scottish Socialist Party General Election 2005
Scottish Socialist Party call for £8 an hour minimum wage
As Labour highlight the minimum wage as a key achievement of the Blair government, Scottish Socialist Party convenor Colin Fox MSP called for the minimum wage to be raised to £8 an hour to lift thousands of Scots out of poverty.
Colin Fox said:
"Low pay and long hours are Scotland's national disgrace. "The UK has the longest working hours in Europe and a mountain of personal debt - unsurprising when you consider than 1 in 3 Scots earns less than £6.50 an hour.
"An £8 an hour minimum wage, equivalent to two-thirds of male median earnings, would lift thousands of families out of poverty, and would actually save money in benefits such as Working Families Tax Credit.
"It is a disgrace that a quarter of low paid workers are found in the public sector, including vital hospital workers, school caterers, and the civil servants paid to administer benefits such as WFTC who end up claiming the benefits themselves.
"Perhaps Tony Blair should reflect on the human price of low pay and long hours when he's relaxing with the G8 leaders in Gleneagles, surrounded by an invisible army of housekeeping staff who work a 48 hour week for £4.85 an hour."
