Influential Tories have never reconciled themselves to the national minimum wage, warns John Prescott writing in yesterday's Sunday Mirror. He reminds us that it was a Conservative administration which abolished Wages Councils in 1993 and urges a fightback against any attempt to cutback the minimum wage. The Government 'wants to look at freezing or cutting the national minimum wage, claiming that convenience stores say it’s leading them to axe jobs and reduce hours. The bottom line is they want cheaper and cheaper labour. This is short-sighted. By raising the minimum wage, the Treasury would receive more tax revenues, reduce welfare payments and boost the economy when we desperately need growth. The minimum wage is a floor on pay. No one wants to live on a floor. But if you freeze or take this floor away, hundreds of thousands of workers will crash into poverty. We must fight any change.'
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/john-prescott-wage-war-tories-1816307
