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NI, Scotland, Wales & NE England minimum wage 'may be reduced'
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by liamssoft | July 25, 2007 at 02:30 am
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Prime Minister Gordon Brown is considering plans which could see the minimum wage reduced in Northern Ireland, it is believed.The minimum wage is set at £5.35 (US$10.99) across the UK, however, if the plans go ahead it will be reduced in NI, Scotland, Wales and the north east of England.
Northern Ireland Employment Minister Sir Reg Empey said he was disappointed with the idea.
"We have difficulty in getting people to leave benefit and go to work, this would make matters worse," he said.
"I think for that reason we have got to remember that the people who are receiving the minimum wage tend to be those people who are doing very basic jobs and I honestly don't think penalising them will improve our economic prosperity."
A government spokesperson would not comment on the issue.
Petition on the Prime Ministers Website To raise the minimum wage of Northern Ireland to £7 an hour
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at 15:02 on July 25th, 2007
$11.87 is the current Minimum in the republic of Ireland. NI has enough problems keeping its work force without further increasing the difference in minimum between both parts of the island. Some may argue that NI will be better positioned to attract inward investment if the minimum wage is reduced but this is only true if they are trying to attract low skilled jobs.