SNP MP IN EQUALITY PLEA: Pay same minimum wage to every age

Current system 'penalises younger workers'

- ANDREW QUINN

THE SNP has called for the national minimum wage to be made equal for workers of all ages.

SNP social justice spokesperson David Linden said the current system is "entirely unfair" and that young people are "penalised" because of their age.

He also called pay inequality "a national scandal".

This comes just days after the minimum wage for those aged 21 and above rose to more than £10 an hour for the first time.

The minimum hourly rate for those aged 23 and above, called the National Living Wage, increased by 9.7 per cent from £9.50 to £10.42.

The rate for 21 and 22-year-olds has increased by 10.9 per cent from £9.18 to £10.18.

The wage for 18 to 20-year-olds has gone from £6.83 to £7.49.

For 16 and 17-year-olds and apprentices it has risen from £4.81 to £5.28. These are also increases of 9.7 per cent.