by New Worker correspondent

Tuesday did not see mass outbreaks of rejoicing workers after it was announced that the hourly minimum wage will rise next April by 50p to £12.71 for workers aged over 21, those aged 18–20 will get a magnificent 85p increase to £10.85,with under-18s and apprentices making do with an extra 45p more to £8 per hour.

Instead, many business leaders shed crocodile tears, lamenting that it was bad for the workers because they will not be able to employ many at such extortionate rates. The Treasury reassured them that the rise merely balanced “the needs of workers, the affordability for businesses and the opportunities for employment”.

The Low Pay Commission, which recommended the rise, also said that the previous minimum wage rises for over-21s had “not had a significant negative impact on jobs”.

Katherine Chapman, boss of the Living Wage Foundation which advocates the higher Real Living Wage, declared however:

“It will still fall short of the voluntary real living wage which is the only wage rate based solely on the cost of living. The real living wage is currently £13.45 in the UK with a higher rate of £14.80 in London.”

The TUC also welcomed the increases. The TUC General Secretary doffed his cap to the Government by declaring: “With living costs stubbornly high, an above-inflation pay rise will make a real difference to the lowest-paid.”

In all too many sectors the minimum wage has become the maximum wage as the NCP predicted when it was introduced in the early days of the Blair Government in 1997. The solution lies in reversing recent decades of decline in trade union membership, rather than relying on Treasury bean-counters and the Lady Bountiful of the Living Wage Foundation.