Rise in National Minimum Wage is a victory for women

A rise in the National Minimum Wage will benefit Bridgend’s lowest paid workers, and women especially.

More than 50,000 Welsh workers will benefit from a rise in the National Minimum Wage from £5.35 to £5.52 an hour from October this year.

This is a victory for Welsh workers. For the past 10 years Labour has worked hard to increase the wage for Wales’ lowest paid workers. Just 10 years ago, some workers were being paid only £1.30 an hour.

Labour appreciates Bridgend’s hard workers and starting this October, no adult over 21 will be paid less than £5.52 an hour. This is especially good news for part time workers - most of whom are women.

Thanks to Labour’s minimum wage increase and the strong Welsh economy, Bridgend workers and their families will not have to struggle to survive. Labour continues to put Bridgend’s people’s welfare at the forefront.’’

The Tories in Parliament opposed the minimum wage. The Liberal Democrats want to vary the level of the minimum wage depending on where you live in the UK, which would punish hardworking Bridgend people. Plaid Cymru's MP's couldn't even be bothered to turn up to vote for the minimum wage.

Yesterday’s announcement means the minimum wage has gone up by almost 30% more than inflation since it was introduced in 1999, with the number of jobs increasing by 130,000 across Wales in the same time.

Since October last year the minimum wage for adults, combined with Working Tax credits and other benefits, has guaranteed an income of at least £268 a week for families with one child and one full-time worker.