Greens pledge £15 minimum wage for all workers

The Green Party of England and Wales is calling for a £15 minimum wage for all workers, as part of a package of pledges on employment rights.

Other promises in the party's "Worker's Charter" include protection from unfair dismissal from the first day in a job, as well as full bans on fire and rehire and zero-hour contracts.

Leader Zack Polanksi said his party would go further than the government on workers' rights, claiming Labour's measures were "weak and have been watered down".

The government has described its Employment Rights Act, which passed in December, as "landmark legislation", which brings "stronger protections and the fairness every worker deserves".

The official minimum wage is currently £12.71 an hour for workers over 21, £10.85 an hour for 18 to 20-year-olds and £8 an hour for 16 and 17-year-olds.

In Labour's 2024 election manifesto, the party committed to removing "discriminatory age bands" and increase the minimum wage for younger workers so they are paid the same as old age groups.

However, ministers are considering delaying these plans, after businesses warned increases in the minimum wage would make it too expensive for them to hire young people.

The Green Party is calling for a £15 minimum wage for all workers, regardless of age, by April 2027.

The party also wants pay rises in the public sector to at a minimum match inflation - the rate prices are rising - with higher rises for the lowest paid.

Other pledges include scrapping all "anti-union and anti-strike laws" introduced since 1979, when Margaret Thatcher became prime minister.

This includes the ban on secondary picketing or action, where workers join disputes not involving their own employers, which was introduced under Thatcher.

Polanski said: "The current Labour government's measures on workers' rights, while an improvement, are weak and have been watered down after pressure from corporate lobbyists.

"The Greens are the new workers' party, and we will address the massive imbalance in our workplaces and give control back to workers."

The Labour Party has been approached for comment.

The government's Employment Rights Act includes banning "exploitative" zero hour contracts by introducing the right to guaranteed hours based on the hours worked during a 21-week period.

However, employees who prefer having a zero-hours contract - where they are not guaranteed hours but can also choose not to work if asked - will be able to remain on those terms.

The legislation also reduces the qualifying period for the right to claim unfair dismissal from two-years to six months.

It makes fire and rehire - when an employer dismisses an employee and then immediately offers them a new contract on less favourable terms - an automatic unfair dismissal except where businesses are in severe financial difficulties and genuinely have no alternative.

Some critics have argued these measures fall short of what Labour promised in its 2024 election manifesto, which pledged protection against unfair dismissal from the first day in a job and an end to fire and rehire

The Conservatives have promised to repeal the Employment Rights Act if they win power, arguing it is "anti-business" and will destroy jobs.

Party leader Kemi Badenoch, has previously suggested the minimum wage should not increase further as businesses are struggling to pay it.

Reform UK has also pledged to scrap the Employment Rights Act, while leader Nigel Farage has suggested the minimum wage is too high for younger workers.

The Liberal Democrats have called for an independent review to recommend a genuine living wage across all sectors, with a 20% higher minimum wage for people on zero-hour contracts to compensate for fluctuating hours.

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