Briefing: Employment: Minimum wage benefiting workers

A minimum wage has a significant impact on workers in the only industry to have a statutory rate, according to a new report today.

A study of wages in the agriculture industry shows that large numbers of workers benefit from having a "floor" on wages. If there was no minimum wage, more than half of craft workers would have up to 7 per cent lower pay, the Economic and Social Research Council survey found. Workers on pig, poultry and dairy farms would be worst hit, losing up to 20 per cent of their earnings, the study found.