The TUC has called for further increase in the national minimum wage. The union has urged the government to raise the minimum wage by 6.5% to more than £6.10 an hour from next October, rising to at least £6.50 by October 2010.

The TUC also says that the adult rate should be payable from the age of 21, while the rate for 18-20-year-olds should eventually be phased out, with the full adult rate paid from age 18, and calls for a series of increases in the rate for 16 and 17-year-olds above the growth in average earnings. This rate should be more than £4 per hour by next October.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber says: “A low minimum wage would not only leave low paid workers - predominantly women - in poverty, but it would also see consumer spending around £250m below where it should be.

“The number of low paid jobs has increased. Setting a decent legal minimum for wages is a vital part of establishing a fairer system of work and fighting poverty. All the signs are that we can afford the £6.10 hourly rate.”