Wednesday April 2nd 2025
This column has been written by Midlothian MP, Kirsty McNeill.
The Labour Government has just delivered a pay rise for 200,000 of the lowest paid Scots. That’s 1 in 20 workers here in Midlothian.
25 years ago, Labour created the National Minimum Wage, boosting incomes and making work more secure. But since then, we’ve had 14 years of a Tory government which did nowhere near enough to make work pay – especially for young people.
That’s why our Labour Government has taken immediate action to increase the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage, boosting the incomes of the lowest paid Scots.
This move means that as of today, full time workers who are over 21 and receiving the National Living Wage will see a 6 percent increase to their pay, resulting in an extra £1,400 a year.
And for 18 to 20 year olds working full time and receiving the National Minimum Wage, a 16 percent pay rise will see their annual incomes rise by £2,500 a year, with apprentices also receiving an 18 percent increase to their incomes.
As a trade unionist, I’m incredibly proud to be part of bringing this change alongside Labour’s landmark Employment Rights Bill – the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation.
Once this Bill is passed, folk in Midlothian will be more secure in their work as a result of a ban on exploitative zero hours contracts, an end to fire and rehire and basic rights from day one in a new job – including bereavement, paternity and parental leave.
This is what Labour is doing to make work work pay, and to make work secure.
This is the difference a Labour Government makes here in Midlothian.
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