Workers 'must shop Scrooge bosses'
Updated on 22 December 2007
Workers have been urged to "shop" unscrupulous bosses who continue to refuse to pay the minimum wage after a study showed around 150,000 people were being denied the statutory rate.
The TUC said the exploitation was "unacceptable", especially at this time of year when workers faced even more financial pressures.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "There should be no hiding place for bosses who are deliberately cheating their workers out of the minimum wage. If you know somebody who is not being paid the minimum wage, now is the time to help them."
He went on: "If you know a Scrooge employer who is not paying workers a decent wage for a fair day's work, now is the time to report them.
"The Government is putting more money into enforcing the minimum wage and increasing the penalties for rogue bosses underpaying their staff.
"We can all help to 'Shop a Scrooge' and bring justice to all those being abused by unscrupulous employers this Christmas."
Workers in hotels, restaurants, hairdressing, security, cleaning and childcare were most likely to be underpaid, said the TUC.
The union organisation said it had been contacted by a homeworker from Yorkshire paid between £2 and £3 an hour, and a Polish man working in a pizza store for a similar wage.
Complaints can be made to the minimum wage helpline - 0845 6000 678.
The minimum wage is £5.52 an hour for adults and £4.60 for 18 to 21-year-olds.
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