LABOUR must stick to its pledge to equalise the minimum wage for young people with the adult rate, ministers were told today.

The pressure from trade unions came following reports that the government was bowing to bosses’ pressure and backing down from the manifesto commitment.

Employers have, as ever, been blaming the prospect of higher wages for rising youth unemployment.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Young workers have bills to pay too — and it’s only right that they get the fair rate for the job.

“That’s why the government must stick to its target on scrapping pay rates based on age, rather than based on the work people do.”

Mr Nowak added that the problem of young people not being in work, education or training “deserves real solutions like an ambitious jobs guarantee, ending insecure employment and driving up the number of quality apprenticeships — not more scaremongering about the minimum wage.”

GMB union national officer Andy Prendergast reminded ministers: “This is a manifesto promise. Young workers are not less productive.

“We’ve been repeatedly told that the minimum wage will lead to unemployment. That’s never happened.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves failed to deny reports that the government was considering delaying the move to equalise the rates as youth unemployment moves upwards.

Labour’s 2024 election manifesto committed to removing “discretionary age bands” and to increase the minimum wage rate for 18 to 20-year-olds to the same as that for those 21 and over. At present there is a gap of £1.86 an hour between the two bands.

Businesses have been telling the government that higher rates for young people would mean less hiring.

Tina McKenzie, of the Federation of Small Businesses told ministers: “Take your head out of the sand and realise if you continue to increase costs of employment, and you make hiring young people more difficult for small employers, then all that’s going to happen is that they will hire less young people.”

Scottish National Party MSP Emma Roddick hit out at the looming U-turn, saying: “This decision by the Labour Party is a complete betrayal of our young people.

“First they raised tuition fees and scrapped free bus travel and now they are refusing to pay our young people a fair and equal wage — at a time when young people are struggling and need a helping hand they have decided to take money out of their pockets.”