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Good news
on minimum wage and jobs say MPs
December 2006
Doncaster MPs Caroline Flint, Rosie
Winterton, Jeff Ennis and Ed Miliband have welcomed
the Pre-Budget Report, particularly its measures on
the National Minimum Wage and jobs.
Welcoming the news of a £9 million
fund to tackle to increase enforcement of the minimum
wage,
Don Valley MP, Caroline Flint, insisted
that full employment had to be fair employment: "Unemployment
has been halved since 1997, but high levels of employment
must also mean fair employment. With one in ten workers
in Doncaster benefiting from the minimum wage, it is
essential that employers abide by the law and don't
underpay."
Ed Miliband said: "I strongly
support the increase in resources for enforcing the
minimum wage and tougher penalties for employers who
pay less than the minimum wage. Rogue companies who
pay below the legal minimum exploit their workers and
undercut decent employers. I am glad the Chancellor
has heard the message that there needs to be tougher
enforcement action."
In October, the adult National Minimum
Wage rose to £5.35 and the rate for workers aged
18 to 21 rose to £4.45.
Don Valley MP, Caroline Flint, insisted
that full employment had to be fair employment: "Unemployment
has been halved since 1997, but high levels of employment
must also mean fair employment. With one in ten workers
in Doncaster benefiting from the minimum wage, it is
essential that employers abide by the law and don't
underpay."
Doncaster Central MP Rosie Winterton
particularly welcomed new steps to help people get into
work: "Good skills are a key to gaining a foot
on the employment ladder, so I am pleased to see that
the current number of Government funded apprenticeships
will rise to 500,000. New jobs are coming into the Borough
every month and I want young people to have the skills
to secure those jobs."
And Jeff Ennis MP predicted that the
Chancellor's statement would mean a continuation of
Doncaster's building boom. "We have seen a boom
in schools colleges and health centres being under construction
across the Borough. The commitment to increase funds
for school building by a further £1.9billion,
to £10.2 billion over the next five years will
means even more 21st century schools for this Borough.
This building programme sustains thousands of jobs.
It is a real mark of progress."
Key announcements in the Pre-Budget
Report include:
- Improving
enforcement of the National Minimum Wage, by increasing
by 50 per cent the resources allocated to tackle non-compliance
- Increasing
Government funded apprenticeships to 500,000;
- A commitment for capital
investment in education to rise from £8.3 billion
in 2007-08 to £10.2 billion in 2010-11
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