Looking forward to our Wage Concern lobby of parliament. More than 100 people have confirmed to attend the meeting in the Jubilee Room.
Joining me to speak in defence of the National Minimum Wage from this Tory Bill to effectively scrap it will be Usdaw General Secretary John Hannett and my good friend Rodney Bickerstaffe.
More than 125 MPs have signed my Early Day Motion calling on David Cameron to distance himself from this bill.
That this House, in celebrating 10 years of the minimum wage, welcomes the above-inflation overall increase in its value over that time; notes with concern the proposal to give the Employment Opportunities Bill, which would abolish the minimum wage, a second reading; calls on the Leader of the Opposition to distance his party from attempts seeking to impoverish low paid workers by this means; and welcomes the Wage Concern campaign to protect the minimum wage."
So imagine my surprise to discover that the bill's proposer Christopher Chope has left two amendments to the EDM.
The first contains only six words but speaks volumes about the Tories think about the minimum wage:
leave out `celebrating' and insert `noting'.
The second amendment takes out the word 'welcomes' says that 'nothing in the Bill shall require a person to take employment below the minimum wage and that no person shall suffer any detriment to their entitlement to national insurance benefits by reason of their unwillingness to take employment below the minimum wage.' (I see its supported by only 8 MPs, less than the 11 backing the bill!)
Look, it's quite simple. If you allow employers and employees to opt out of the minimum wage you'll have a deregulated race to the bottom and go back to the bad old days when people like Peter Bone - who also sponsors the bill - boasted at the Tory Party conference they he paid 87p an hour. And got a round of applause.
Under Chope's Bill an employer would legally be able to say to a prospective employee: "I'd love to take you on but I'm a bit short of money and the other candidate is prepared to work for less than £5.80 an hour. However, if you're prepared to come down a bit....."
We fought long and hard to bring in the National Minimum Wage - against fierce Tory opposition and we're not going to give it up without a fight. It's one of our proudest achievements and benefits a million people every time it's increased.
But what I don't understand is why the Tory Party is letting this Bill progress. The Tory whips and CCHQ would normally clamp down on anything that threatens the image of Cameron's socalled 'Caring Conservativsm.'
I suspect Chope and his supporters are actually flying a kite here. And whilst some commentators say it's only a private members bill and it won't become law, that's not the point.
The point is they're testing the ground. They're seeing if there's a public outcry. If we don't shout loud and proud about the National Minimum Wage, they'll think they'll be able to scrap it if they get elected.
So let's keep making our voices heard. You can still lobby your MP and sign the petition at the Wage Concern website - www.wageconcern.com
P.S. I see Alastair's waded into this bill on his blog. Forgive his swearing - he's usually such a shy and retiring type - but he makes a good case.
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