Saltash CAB bears brunt of new wage

Disgruntled employees who feel that they have suffered through the introduction of the minimum wage have been calling the Citizen's Advice Bureau in Saltash in their droves.

Saltash is among seven bureaux in the county that have been monitoring the introduction of the minimum wage from April 1 this year, and it has been discovered that while employers are paying the specified amount of £3.60 per hour for over 21s, some are reducing working hours as a way round the new rate.

CAB says that in one case an employer cut workers' hours in order to pay the wage, whilst another slashed the hours of a small workforce from 37 to 30 hours per week.

In a third case an employee who receives the minimum wage had their working hours reduced to merely 15 per week.

The manager of Saltash CAB, Louise Cowie, said there had been a rush of problems in the week before the introduction of the wage, and the week afterwards, although they had continued to come in. She described the reduction of workers' hours as an 'alarming practice' which leaves them no better off, but said as the wages in the county are traditionally low this was probably expected.

However most of the complaints had stemmed from youngsters who are now entitled to £3 an hour. Many have not been receiving this, and some of their pay packets are based on wages as low as £2 per hour. Mrs Cowie said she has sympathy for those employers running small businesses and shops who are faced with large rises in wage bills which they cannot meet. She pointed out, though, that not paying the minimum wage is a criminal offence, and said that the Inland Revenue has launched a task force to look into the subject. She felt that the whole issue will 'sort itself out in time' but along the way there will be cuts in working hours, and job losses.

Dave Champion, of North Cornwall CAB, said: 'Whilst appreciating that some employers will have difficulty with paying the minimum wage, reducing working hours means that a worker is no better off, as the reduction ultimately leads to smaller pay packets.concerns