Commenting on statement by Chancellor George Osborne on the minimum wage, John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said:
“Although it is clear that there is an increased disparity between the highest and lowest earners, arbitrarily raising the floor isn’t necessarily the solution and could in fact make the UK economy uncompetitive in the long term. The adverse effects of an unaffordable minimum wage hike would also be predominantly concentrated among SMEs, young people and graduates. If we want to spread the wealth around as the economy recovers, we need a long-term plan to create a high-skill, high-wage economy, including action on infrastructure and access to finance.”
Caroline Williams, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said:
“Increasing the minimum wage by more than inflation rate could have a detrimental effect on the Norfolk business community, the majority of whom fall into the SME bracket. Economic recovery is fragile and many employers are working hard in challenging markets and increased wage bills would slow their progress to growth.
The Living Wage campaign has been gathering momentum across the the public sector and larger employers and this looks to be a compromise, increasing the minimum wage but keeping it lower than the Living Wage rate.”
