Businesses call for minimum wage freeze

Date: 13th February 2009

Small businesses have called on the government to freeze the national minimum wage rate to stem rising unemployment numbers.

Data published by the Office for National Statistics this week revealed that 1.97 million people in the UK are now out of work - illustrating the depth of the country's economic meltdown.

In response, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has called for measures such as a suspension on minimum wage and national insurance rises, and a cut in business taxation.

David Kern, chief economist of the BCC, said: "Unemployment continues to rise in the face of a worsening recession.

"We know businesses do not want to lose key staff but they are struggling with cashflow."

He added that the government needs to address this if soaring jobless figures are to be held down.

Earlier this month, the Federation of Small Businesses claimed that small firms could be hit for as much as £800 million if new laws on flexible working and staff time-off are introduced.