Equal pay regardless of age: Long

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 30th Sep 2005

Alliance Employment and Learning spokesperson Michael Long has said the minimum wage for 16- and

17-year-olds must be brought into line with that for 18-year-olds.

Speaking after the UK Government announced a rise in the figure those aged 18 and above, the Castlereagh Councillor stated: "As there has been no rise for those aged 16 and 17, I am very concerned that there is now the clear potential for employers to exploit young workers.

"We in Alliance have campaigned for a while not just for similar rises in the minimum wage for under-18s, but that it should be brought wholly into line.

"We do not want to get to a situation where employers are wary, given the costs, of giving young people a chance in the workplace. However, the principle of equal pay for equal work is widely accepted, and must apply to age just as it does to gender or anything else."

ENDS