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Press Notices   >>Back to Press notice index Press Release 26 June 2002 LOW PAY COMMISSION VISIT TO BIRMINGHAM AND COVENTRY Low Pay Commissioners will visit Birmingham and Coventry on a fact finding visit about the National Minimum Wage on Thursday 27 June 2002. Paul Gates and Willy Brown will visit the Low Pay Unit in Birmingham to find out about a pilot scheme designed to encourage complaints against non payment of the National Minimum Wage. They will also meet employees from ethnic minorities working within low paid sectors and they will be talking to local employers, including a visit to the Coventry Clothing Centre. Low Pay Commissioner Willy Brown said: “The Low Pay Commission has been asked by the Government to prepare a further report on the operation of the National Minimum Wage and to review the minimum wage rates. As part of this work, we want to hear the views of all groups with an interest in the minimum wage. We welcome the opportunity to listen to what people in the West Midlands have to say about how the minimum wage has affected them.” Notes to Editors 1. The Low Pay Commission is a statutory body whose role is to advise the Government on the National Minimum Wage. 2. The Commission has produced four reports. These are available from the Stationery Office Bookshops or the Commission’s website at: http://www.lowpay.gov.uk 3. The members of the Low Pay Commission are: Adair Turner (Chairman), Vice Chairman, Merrill Lynch Holdings Ltd; Professor William Brown CBE, Professor of Industrial Relations, University of Cambridge; David Coats, Head, Economic and Social Affairs Department, Trades Union Congress; John Cridland, Deputy Director-General, Confederation of British Industry; Paul Gates OBE, General Secretary, National Union of Knitwear, Footwear and Apperal Trades; Ian Hay OBE, Chairman, Food Trade Association Management Professor David Metcalf, Professor of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics; Margaret Prosser OBE, Former Deputy General Secretary, Transport and General Workers Union; and Angie Risley, Human Resources Director, Whitbread PLC. 4. The National Minimum Wage for those over 21 is £4.50 per hour. For those aged 18 to 21 or over 21 but in the first six months of a new job with a new employer and receiving accredited training, the rate is £3.80 per hour. The Government has accepted the Commission's recommendation that subject to confirmation in early 2004 - there should be further increases to £4.85 and £4.10 from 1 October 2004. Low Pay Commission Elizabeth House 39 York Road London SE1 7NQ Tel. 020 7855 4553 LOW PAY COMMISSION Terms of reference for the fourth report The Low Pay Commission (LPC) is asked to: continue to monitor and evaluate the impact of the national minimum wage, with particular reference to the effect on pay, employment and competitiveness in low paying sectors and small firms; the effect on different groups of workers; the effect on pay structures; and the interaction between the national minimum wage and the tax and benefit systems; and review the levels of both the main national minimum wage rate and the development rate and make recommendations, if appropriate, for change. In making its recommendations, the LPC should have regard to the wider economic and social implications; the likely effect on employment, especially amongst disadvantaged groups in the labour market, and inflation; the impact on the costs and competitiveness of business; and the potential costs to industry and the Exchequer. The LPC should also have regard to its current research remit as published by the Government on 16 October 2001. This asked the LPC to commission research investigating the impact of the minimum wage on the employment levels of various age groups, the link with training and skills and the impact of the minimum wage on business as a whole and small businesses in particular. The Commission is asked to report to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry by the end of February 2003.   Back to top