Does Ed Milliband think a promise of £8 per hour eliminates low pay? And that is not now but some time in the future (2019). This is already less than the living wage.
A real commitment would be to a living wage that meant no subsidy from welfare benefits, which is a subsidy to the employer and consumer by the tax payer and a distortion of the market.
If an employer cannot afford a living wage then perhaps the customer should not get the service. Consumers would simply have to pay the full cost instead of being subsidised out of the public pocket (ie: yours and mine). Most of these jobs are in local (UK) services so I doubt that many jobs would be lost. But if they are then the work would be re-organised and still be done, by fewer people. So as an added bonus, productivity would improve!
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