Labour forces vote on Minimum Wage enforcement

The Labour leadership might be shifting their focus to Middle Class voters this week – but tomorrow the party will use an Opposition Day debate to force a vote on enforcement of the Minimum Wage. Despite the government promising to tackle rogue employers who pay below the minimum wage last year not one company has been named and shamed for not paying.

The National Minimum Wage is worth less in real terms than it was in May 2010 –  so Labour MPs will also call on the Government to “strengthen” the Minimum wage, encourage more employers to pay a living wage, introduce higher fines for firms found not paying it and for local authorities to be given enforcement powers. 

Here’s Labour’s motion:

“That this House celebrates the fifteenth anniversary of the introduction of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) which falls this year and the contribution it has made to making work pay, boosting living standards and tackling in-work poverty; notes that before the NMW was established poverty pay was widespread and that the Conservative Party and many Liberal Democrat Members opposed its introduction; further notes that families are on average £1,600 worse off a year and the NMW is now worth less in real terms than in May 2010; further notes that the government has not backed up its promise to ‘name and shame’ firms not paying the minimum wage; calls on the government to strengthen the NMW, including by increasing fines for non-payment of the NMW and giving local authorities enforcement powers; and further calls on the Government to encourage employers to pay a living wage and take action to restore the value of the NMW so that the UK can earn its way out of the cost of living crisis and help control the cost of social security.”