Labour Pledges £10 Minimum Wage For Under-18S

[naomi24]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48234398

Sounds good – but could it rebound? Will it deter business from employing the young in favour of, in effect, getting better value for money from older, more experienced staff?

[jim360]

I should just say, by the way, that my first post was really meant to discuss the disparity between the 18-25 and 25+ minimum wages. I don't really see the logic there, and it makes no sense that a 24-year-old will earn 51p/hour less, currently, than a 25-year-old (assuming both are on minimum wages). However I realise that the original post was referring to 16/17-year-olds primarily. Sorry for the oversight. But still, does raise the question: if you object to such a high wage for 16- and 17-year-olds (ie, still children), do those objections carry over to the idea of equalising the Minimum Wage for every adult? In the latest round of increases, too, the disparity between 21-24 and 25+ age group workers even grew (by 6p/hour), as did that between 18-20 and 21-24 age group workers (7p/hour).

[naomi24]

Jim, //if you object to such a high wage for 16- and 17-year-olds //

I haven't objected - but for a number of reasons, not least that everything has to be paid for, I don't think this has been thought through sensibly.

[jim360]

I was meaning "you" in the more general sense, but still, thanks for the reply. Heck, you even said "sounds good" in the first post. Not necessarily my finest hour on AB, I'll wager :)

[naomi24]

Well it does sound good, just as everything else Labour promises sounds good. Sounding good is as far as it goes though. The reality is different.