EU Directive: Adequate Minimum Wages

Lord Fox Excerpts

Wednesday 18th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, the Government agree that a strong voice for workers is a positive for the economy as a whole. We believe the best way of delivering that is to start with implementing the ambitious measures in the Employment Rights Act, including introducing the fair pay agreements in social care, reintroducing the school support staff negotiating body and widening improvements to trade union processes. We do not intend to create an action plan or a specific target for collective bargaining at this point in time. We have consulted the TUC and the CBI on this measure and thank them for their input.

[Lord Fox (LD)]

My Lords, I am sure the Minister would acknowledge that an important precursor to people having wages is for them to have a job. I am sure that he would also recognise, perhaps reluctantly, that the number of jobs available, particularly for people at the lowest end of the wage scale, has taken a hit of late. So, can the Minister undertake to visit his friends in the Treasury and explain that their unheralded increase in employer NIC contributions has seriously hit the job prospects of the very people that his party said it was here to help?

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, I fully acknowledge that businesses face challenges and that micro-businesses operate with narrow margins and encounter real pressures, and these businesses are the ones that employ young people. However, the evidence consistently shows that paying staff fairly strengthens businesses in the long run: higher wages and lower staff turnover boost morale and productivity and help businesses keep experienced workers. Crucially, these wages are then spent within local communities, often in small shops, cafés and services right across the country. A national living wage supports not only workers but the resilience of local communities.