§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Employment what would be the cost to employers of the introduction 71W of a national minimum wage of £25 per week for all male wage earners over (a) 18 years and (b) 21 years of age.
§ Mr. BoothThe total cost of introducing a national minimum wage of £25 for these groups of employees is impossible to estimate because the consequences, for example on numbers of jobs and on adjustments in pay for those already above the minimum, cannot be foreseen.
The simple cost of raising the wages of males aged 18 and over at present below £25 a week to that level is estimated at approximately £290 million—0.7 per cent. of the national wages and salaries bill; the cost of raising the wages of males aged 21 and over to £25 a week is estimated at approximately £160 million—0.4 per cent. of the national wages and salaries bill.