John Healey is poised to water down Labour‘s vow to equalise the minimum wage for under-21s.
The Chancellor is expected to announce a 3.9 per cent rise in the minimum wage when he delivers the Budget tomorrow.
That would take the national living wage level from £12.71 to £13.20.
However, Mr Healey will reportedly not announce a bigger hike to the minimum for workers aged 18 to 20 – abandoning the trend since 2024.
The move is being seen as backtracking on Labour’s manifesto, which promised to end ‘discrimination’ in minimum wage rates, although it did not give a fixed timetable.
Businesses have raised alarm that the
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