The British Retail Consortium has spoken out about its worries over the minimum wage and the detrimental effect it could have on UK industry. The main concerns are for small and medium sized businesses.
The Low Pay Commission undertook a review of the impact of the minimum wage on behalf of the Government recently but the BRC are not satisfied. They will be conducting their own survey of businesses to determine the full impact. The BRC also said that they did not feel the Government considered the impact of raising the minimum wage to £4.85. They are concerned for future rises and the outcome of future Low Pay Commission recommendations.
Our View
The argument of keeping or withdrawing the minimum wage is a very hard one. On one hand, the lower earning public need to be protected and not exploited on wages that cannot support them. On the other hand, some employers are reluctant to employ further staff because of the increased cost on their businesses. This puts additional strain on the existing workforce.
We believe that there should be a minimum wage but that it should be linked to the jobs being undertaken, possibly even taking into account qualifications and experience. This would help shield employers taking on virtually unskilled labour.