SNP In Plea Over Minimum Wage

Low-paid Scots would have earned almost £3,000 more over the last six years if the national minimum wage had kept pace with the cost of living, the SNP has claimed.

The minimum pay rate, which was first introduced by Labour in 2009, currently stands at £6.50 an hour - the equivalent of a full-time salary of £10,968.75 a year.

But according to figures from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe), if the hourly rate had risen in line with the retail price index (RPI) it would now amount to £6.93 an hour, or £11,688.18 for a full-time worker.

While the national minimum wage has increased every year since it was introduced, these rises have been below the rate of RPI.

If the national minimum wage had kept up with RPI, workers on the minimum pay rate would have earned £2,948.34 more over the last six years, the SPICe figures suggest.

The SNP is calling for the powers to set the minimum wage to be devolved to Scotland, with nationalist MSP Sandra White arguing the figures are damning evidence of how both Labour and Tory Westminster governments have let down low-paid people in Scotland''.

Ms White said: While people at the top are getting richer, workers earning the minimum wage are losing out to the tune of almost £3,000.''

She claimed Westminster simply isn't interested in standing up for working people'', but said the SNP has astrong track record'' on the issue by paying the Living Wage to public sector staff, guaranteeing no compulsory redundancies in the public sector, and setting up the Fair Work Convention to champion better pay and good industrial relations.

Ms White said: The Westminster parties have shown that they simply can't be trusted to stand up for low-paid workers. It is vitally important that powers over employment and the minimum wage are transferred to Scotland - to allow us to ensure that everyone in Scotland receives a fair day's pay for a fair day's work and to lift thousands of working people out of poverty.''