At a Unison conference in Brighton, England, Jeremy Corbyn argued that workers as young as 16 years old should have wages increased to a minimum of 10 pounds per hour, BBC World News reports.
Corbyn’s Labour manifesto stated that the Living Wage for workers 18-24 years old should be £10 an hour, or around $12.75. However, when questioned about whether younger workers should be eligible for these increased wages, Corby responded that the law “should apply to all workers.”
Currently, the minimum wage in Britain is £7.50 per hour for workers 25 and older. By 2020, the rate is expected to increase to £9 an hour. In Labour’s general election doctrine, the party pledged to raise this wage to £10 by 2020 for all workers 18 and up, a sharp change from current minimum wage policy.
Weighing in on the policy and its extension to 16-year old workers, the head of the Labour party said, “Yes, the £10 an hour living wage, real living wage, is correct and also should apply to all workers, because I don’t think young people eat less than old people – that’s my experience anyway.”
Workers ages 21-24 have a slightly lower mandatory wage, around £7.05 per hour. The 18-20 range is £5.60, and anyone under 18 is entitled to £4.05 an hour.
Corbyn also attempted to conflate the recent Grenfell Tower fire, a deadly blaze that killed 79 people, to what he calls ‘austerity economics.”
He stated, “Make no mistake about it – this is the brutal reality of austerity economics that has failed in its own terms, and leading to falling living standards, rising inequality and disasters.”
Despite the fact that the fire was by no means caused by minimum wage, it was a convenient tragedy that Corbyn employed to push his minimum wage narrative. The socialist politician continued his fiery rhetoric, attacking the Conservative party for their poor performance in the recent parliamentary election.
Corbyn remarked that his party is, “ready for another election at any time, to finish the job of beating the failed, clapped-out Tories and form a government that works for all.”