What is the national minimum wage and when will it increase?

With the UK economy in dire straits thanks to inflation soaring to 9.9% and driving up the price of consumer goods as wages stagnate and a winter of sky-high energy bills looms, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called for an increase minimum wage "as soon as possible".

"Every worker should be able to afford a decent standard of living," said Frances O'Grady, General Secretary of the TUC.

"But millions of low-wage workers are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to get by - and they're now being pushed to the brink by sky-high bills and skyrocketing prices. aged 22 to 21, £6.83 for 20 to 18 year olds nd £4.81 for under 18s and apprentices.

These rates came into effect on 1 April this year, when they are adjusted annually, and represented a 6.6% increase in the top rate from £8.91 the previous year.

People aged 22 and under who had the lowest rates received increases of 83 pence, 27 pence and 19 pence, which then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak said was "broadly consistent" with the previous increases in a recent announcement time. October.

The government now says it is trying to strike a balance and warns that raising the minimum wage too big or too fast risks mass unemployment if businesses are unable to to meet wages.

< p>But the TUC insists that workers must get their "fair share" at a time when companies are paying higher dividends to shareholders.

"We have had promises from the government time and time again, that we should have a high wage economy," Ms O'Grady told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

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rkers who are absolutely terrified of what these hikes in energy bills will mean for their budgets, having to shell out for school uniforms and putting food on the table."

She did argue that higher-paid citizens were less likely to have to claim benefits from the state and more likely paying taxes and contributing to the economy as consumers.

She also criticized the fact that the minimum wage is lower for younger earners, adding, "It's clear for me, and I think for a lot of people people should be paid at the labor rate, regardless of their age.

"If they work so hard for the same job, why should they be discriminated against? against just because they are under 23?"

The UK national minimum wage is set in response to the median wage, an average calculated by adding up each wage in the UK and identifying the midpoint .< /p>

The current target is for the minimum wage to reach 66% of the median wage by 2024, an approach which is expected to increase the again to £10.50 from 1 April 2023.

However, the TUC wants the average for all workers to be £20 an hour, with the minimum wage rising to 75% of that, or £15 an hour, very short.