The Labour Party have released their full manifesto ahead of the 2015 General Election, calling for action on low pay and tougher sentences for those who assault shop workers.
On the issue of low pay, Labour have affirmed their commitment to increase the National Minimum Wage to £8 per hour by October 2019, and have set out proposals to reform the way the Low Pay Commission works. Labour also intend to require publicly listed companies to state whether they pay employees the living wage, and incentivise the payment of the living wage through tax rebates.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “The Low Pay Commission are best placed to make recommendations on the national minimum wage. We do not believe that wage rates should be politicised, and are concerned that a commitment to above inflation increases in the minimum wage will lead to hours being cut and businesses suffering.”
On crime, Labour are calling for more protections to be given to staff that work in public to protect them from assaults – primarily through tougher sentences for offenders. There is also a commitment to introduce “Pay Back Orders” to replace low level cautions for shop theft.
Mr Lowman continued: “Our research has shown that over half of convenience stores have to deal with verbal or physical abuse, while one in five have seen an increase in theft from their store over the last year. Any measures to tackle the issues of violence against staff and discourage shop theft are a welcome step forward.”
Labour have also committed to cut business rates by cancelling the planned cut in Corporation tax. They estimate a business rates cut will help 1.5 million small businesses.
“We welcome the commitment to cut then freeze business rates” added Mr Lowman. “We also need any future Government to deliver the full review of business rates that has just stated and which must result in a fairer, simpler system.”
The manifesto announcement also includes pledges to remove exclusivity clauses from zero hours contracts and providing new powers to tackle business types clustering on high streets. The full announcement can be found here: http://www.labour.org.uk/pages/changing-britain-together.
