The Government is planning to extend the minimum wage to 16 and 17-year-olds.

The extension of the statutory rate, which has only applied to workers over the age of 18 since it was brought in five years ago, will delight campaigners and trade unions.

The rate for 18 to 21-year-olds is currently £3.80 an hour, rising to £4.50 an hour for adults aged 22 or over.

Unions and campaign groups have been pressing for the minimum wage to be extended to 16 and 17-year-olds and a pledge was set to be given by ministers today.

Insiders believe the rate will be around £3 an hour in a bid to answer business concerns about the threat to jobs.

The British Youth Council said a third of youngsters aged 16 or under had jobs that paid less than £3 an hour, while some 13 to 15-year-olds were on rates as low as £2.

Spokesman Richard Angell said: "Young people make a major contribution to the country's economy but if you are under 18, you have no right to a national minimum wage.

"What we are calling for is equal pay for equal work, a fair and decent minimum wage for 16 and 17-year-olds and recognition that workers under 16 also need protecting."

The council said financial pressures were pushing greater numbers of young people into employment.

Many young people did not know their rights and employers were using this ignorance to keep pay down, said the council.

Unison and the YMCA made submissions to the Low Pay Commission recommending the minimum wage be extended to 16 and 17-year-olds after researching conditions for young workers, including those on Modern Apprenticeships.

The union said extending the minimum wage would go some way towards protecting young workers from exploitative employers.

General secretary Dave Prentis said: "We want to see a single minimum wage rate for all those performing a full job. Young workers are firmly established in the labour market and need minimum wage protection.

"They are performing tasks equivalent to those of adult workers and contributing to the economic success of the organisations they work for, and it is only fair that they are paid the rate for the job."

The CBI has urged the Low Pay Commission to proceed "cautiously" with any rises in the adult rate for the minimum wage.

The business group said it had accepted the idea of a minimum wage for 16 and 17-year-olds, provided it was set at a prudent level.

"There seems to be a view in some quarters that the wage should be raised until it causes damage," said a spokesman.

"This is a dangerous and mistaken approach. The wage has been a success because of the prudent rate that it was set and uprated."

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "Any increase in the minimum wage will be welcomed by the thousands who depend on it, and there will be a very wide welcome for a minimum wage for 16 and 17-year-olds who are too often badly exploited."

Monday March 15, 2004