Green Party Proposes £15 Minimum Wage by 2027 Amid Broader Debate on Worker Rights

The Green Party of England and Wales called for a £15 minimum wage for all workers, regardless of age, by April 2027, as part of its package of employment rights pledges. The party also promised protection from unfair dismissal from the first day in a job, full bans on fire and rehire, and zero-hour contracts.

BBC News reported these measures form the party's 'Worker's Charter,' aimed at addressing workplace imbalances.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski stated that his party would go further than the government on workers' rights, claiming Labour's measures were 'weak and have been watered down' after pressure from corporate lobbyists. Polanski said: 'The current Labour government's measures on workers' rights, while an improvement, are weak and have been watered down after pressure from corporate lobbyists.

The party further pledged pay rises in the public sector to at a minimum match inflation, with higher rises for the lowest paid, and scrapping all anti-union and anti-strike laws introduced since 1979.

Those anti-union laws include the ban on secondary picketing introduced under Margaret Thatcher. BBC News reported the Green Party accuses the Labour government of watering down its promises on workers' rights. 85 an hour for 18 to 20-year-olds, and £8 an hour for 16 and 17-year-olds.

The spokesperson added: 'The Green Party have the wrong plan and would decimate business, which would result in job losses. In Labour's 2024 election manifesto, the party committed to removing discriminatory age bands and increasing the minimum wage for younger workers to match older age groups, along with protection against unfair dismissal from the first day in a job and an end to fire and rehire.

Ministers are considering delaying plans to remove discriminatory age bands after businesses warned increases would make hiring young people too expensive.

The government's Employment Rights Act bans exploitative zero-hour contracts by introducing the right to guaranteed hours based on hours worked during a 21-week period. It reduces the qualifying period for the right to claim unfair dismissal from two years to six months and makes fire and rehire an automatic unfair dismissal except where businesses are in severe financial difficulties with no alternative.

The Conservatives have promised to repeal the Employment Rights Act if they win power.

Party leader Kemi Badenoch has suggested the minimum wage should not increase further as businesses are struggling to pay it. Reform UK has pledged to scrap the Employment Rights Act, while leader Nigel Farage has suggested the minimum wage is too high for younger workers.

The Liberal Democrats have called for an independent review to recommend a genuine living wage across all sectors, with a 20% higher minimum wage for people on zero-hour contracts.