Minimum wage ‘will apply' to industry
Government minister Ian McCartney has reaffirmed the administration's commitment to include hotel and catering workers in its plan for a national minimum wage.
During a question-and-answer session in Parliament last week, the Minister of State for Trade and Industry dismissed the claims of Anne McIntosh, Conservative MP for the Vale of York, that "there are very strong grounds for the exclusion of workers in the hotel and tourism industry generally" from forthcoming legislation.
McIntosh raised the subject again after reports that the Government may be considering exempting the farming industry from the national minimum Wage - having previously stated that there would be no exemptions at all (Caterer, 4 December, page 7).
"I wanted to stress again the case for exempting the hotel and tourism sector, where employment is seasonal and a minimum wage would lead to higher unemployment," she said.
However, McCartney, who revealed to the House that he is "a former low-paid catering worker" himself, replied: "There are absolutely no grounds to continue poverty pay in the hotel and catering industry. Large and small companies now recognise that a minimum wage will be as good for their business as it is for their employees."
