* Deputy leader announces commitment at Autumn Conference in Bristol
* Move coupled with policy to end pay discrimination for under 21s
* Amelia Womack: “If we want to build a working environment that is fair for everyone, we have to make things fair from your very first job onwards”
In her first Conference speech since her re-election last month, Green Party of England and Wales deputy leader Amelia Womack has announced a policy to provide a living wage for apprenticeships.
The policy, part of a wider plan to revolutionise the world of work, seeks to alleviate the UK’s skills shortage by encouraging more young people to seek apprenticeships.
Womack also announced the party’s intention to deliver an equal pay for under 21s. Currently, the minimum wage for an 18 to 21-year-old is £5.90. The Green Party has called for under 21s to be given a Real Living Wage.
Amelia Womack said:
“A fair workplace has to be fair for apprentices as well. So today we are also pledging our official support a living wage for apprentices. The current minimum wage for apprentices is £3.70 per hour.
“Meanwhile, three quarters of young people polled this year have said that low pay would put them off taking up an apprenticeship.
“It is no wonder that we have a skills shortage in this country. It is time that the political class woke up to the value of investing in training and apprenticeships, to the hardships facing young people today and to the realities of pay inequality in Britain.”