TRANSPORT Salaried Staff’s Association general secretary
Gerry Doherty has called for an increase in the minimum wage and a
radical rethink of flexible working policies from the next
Government.
Doherty is demanding an increase in the minimum wage of more than
one-third for those aged 22 and over to £6.50 an hour. The
current minimum wage is £4.85 an hour.
If elected, Labour has committed to increasing the minimum wage to
£5.35 in October 2006. The Liberal Democrats say they will
scrap the under-18s national minimum wage rate, while the
Conservative Party has pledged to keep it.
Doherty also called on the next Government to “put
pressure” on the industry’s employers to improve
flexible working opportunities and to focus on pensions.