Minimum wage exploitation fears

Mr Connor is fears young workers will be exploited

A union boss has warned that hundreds of thousands of young workers could lose out when the minimum wage is increased later this year.

Usdaw general secretary Bill Connor highlighted what he said was a growing gap between youth and adult rates.

We haven't been presented with any evidence to indicate that this disparity is being exploited

DTI spokesman

Mr Connor believes that the gap is open to exploitation by employers leaving young people who already felt "under valued and under appreciated" feeling even more disheartened.

He told the epolitix.com website: "The Treasury is worried about the effect (of the minimum wage) on the New Deal.

"Which is nonsense and based, in our opinion, on unjustified prejudice.

"It's going to become more pronounced when we increase the minimum wage to £4.10 and the youth wage is £3.50.

"We think a number of employers will be unable to resist the temptation to exploit this anomaly."

Mr Connor predicted that "hundreds of thousands" of young people would lose out as a result.

"I think young people themselves feel undervalued, under appreciated and to some extent are used as a large pool of cheap labour," he said.

Time for full wage

Mr Connor said that 18-year-olds should get the full minimum wage with 16 to 17-year-olds getting 80-90% of the adult rate.

The government has promised to raise the minimum wage rate for over 21s to £4.10 an hour from the current rate of £3.70 from October.

The youth rate - which applies to workers aged 16-21 - will rise to £3.50 from £3.20.

A Trade and Industry spokesman defended the lower rate saying it was intended to encourage employers to provide workplace training.

"We haven't been presented with any evidence to indicate that this disparity is being exploited," he said.

"Ministers are mindful that to stop a detrimental effect on employment prospects we have got to have a youth and development rate."