More than 17,000 workers in Sheffield over the age of 16 are paid the minimum wage or below, which is 7.5% of all workers. This is compared to 5.9% nationally, making Sheffield the lowest paid city in the country.

A Labour government will ensure working pays for all and will change the remit of the Low Pay Commission so that the minimum wage will for the first time reflect the need for working people’s pay to at least cover the cost of living.

Under the plan Labour would create a link to median earnings, so that all workers benefit from growth – and ensure this genuine National Living Wage applied to every adult worker.

From April 2016 the government introduced a higher minimum wage rate for all staff over 25 – calling it the ‘National Living Wage’. However, this wage is not calculated according to what employees and their families need to live. Instead, it is based on a target to reach 66% of median earnings by 2024.

Under current forecasts this means a rise to £10.50 per hour by 2024 and from 2021 was adjusted to include those over 23 years old. As of April 2022, the National Living Wage is £9.50 for all over 23s, while the National Minimum Wage is £9.18 for those aged 21-22 and just £6.83 for those aged 18-20.

Yet the Real Living Wage is currently set at £9.90 an hour.

The next Labour government will change the Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) remit so that the minimum wage will for the first time be enough for workers to live on.

Louise Haigh MP for Sheffield Heeley, said:

“The last Labour Government created the Minimum Wage, which ensured millions of workers were not paid a poverty wage.

“But over the years, the Minimum Wage has never kept pace with the needs of workers.

“The next Labour Government will ensure that no one has to go to work and still worry about how they will put food on the table or pay their bills.

“No one in Britain today should be paid less than they can actually live on.

“This is especially important for Sheffield, officially the lowest paid city in the country.”