WARRINGTON Borough Council’s Young People’s Champion has accused the Government of “yet another attack on young people.”
Cllr Kelly Simcock slammed the Government for freezing the minimum wage for 16-20 year-olds while giving older adults a rise.
The Orford councillor (pictured) is to raise the issue at next week’s meeting of the council, asking the authority to commit to paying a fair wage to any young apprentices they employ rather then the bare, legal minimum of £2.60 an hour.
This, she hopes, will set a good example to those in the private sector.
Cllr Simcock said: “Young people have already suffered so much under this Tory-Lib Dem coalition Government.
“This is yet another attempt by the Coalition to lower the bar for some of the most vulnerable members of society. With the removal of the Education Maintenance Allowance and the rising costs of tuition fees, young people are already feeling priced out of education.
“Whilst the government may be promoting apprenticeships to our youth, they seem to expect them to do work on the cheap. I want this Labour administration to set an example to other sectors by ensuring that we pay our young people what they are worth. This is exactly the time when we should be investing in our young people and showing them how we value their contribution to society and to the world of work – not exploiting them.
‘By putting such a low price tag on the value of our young people – there is a danger that employers will see them as cheap labour. Inflation isn’t something that just affects older members of society and the terrible message that this freeze gives is that our young people simply aren’t worth the investment.
“I think that they’ve suffered enough and it’s about time that the Government’s habit of hitting young people hard is broken”.
Cllr Simcock will next week ask the council to raise the standards for young people.
“When this council pledged to put young people at the heart of its decision making – it made a commitment. I intend to ensure that young people are taken seriously”.
Young people's champion hits out
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Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
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I rather think that young people suffered most under the previous Labour Government, who trashed the economy by spending money that your country did not have. You never had a real boom because it was built on unsustainable debt but you certainly have had a bust, which I guess your current government is trying to sort out, with, it seems, some difficulty. With regards to a minimum wage, it is exactly that, employers are free to pay more if they can afford to do so. The problem in the UK is not the minimum wage, but the lack of jobs, so one can argue about a minimum wage all day long, if there are no jobs, you won’t be getting a wage at all. Wages tend to be based on supply and demand. Young people in the UK and elsewhere in the world are getting a tough time through no fault of their own, but rather through the failings of previous generations to run the economy in a sound and sustainable manner. With regards to apprenticeships, I remember that in the old days of real apprenticeships, it was a bit like slave labour, but at the end of five years, you had a real trade, were highly skilled and much sought after both in the UK and abroad and could command a high wage.