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FAIR PAY, FAIR PLAY: 10th ANNIVERSARY OF LABOUR’S NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE   Kent Labour welcomes the 10th anniversary of Labour passing the National Minimum Wage Act 1998.    The minimum wage was introduced following a manifesto commitment by Labour in the lead-up to its landslide victory in 1997.    The wage currently stands at £5.52, but it will rise to £5.73 on 1st October. Moreover, in a move welcomed by unions, changes will be introduced by the Government next year to prevent employers from using tips to make up the minimum wage.    Labour Shadow Leader of KCC, Mike Eddy, said: “This is really one of Labour’s finest achievements as a government. The National Minimum Wage has benefited millions of people.    “Everyone deserves fair pay in return for their work. Who’d want to go back to the bad old days, when people slaved away for only £1.20 an hour?   “But that kind of thing was common and legal when the Conservatives were in power.   “The Conservatives campaigned against the Minimum Wage and many of Kent’s Tory MPs voted against it. The Tories’ roll of dishonour includes Julian Brazier, Michael Fallon, Roger Gale, Damian Green and Ann Widdecombe.   “The Conservative line was that it’d send unemployment rising. But Labour has delivered a rising National Minimum Wage and more people in work than ever before”.