Teens on £10 per hour won't burn holes in pockets

Jeremy Corbyn with young people (Image: JOE.co.uk)

The relationship between the Labour Party and prominent business leaders has always been rocky to say the least. It really hit bottom in 2008, during the global economic crisis, when then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown announced unpopular economic policies (in the eyes of the City). The party in red has not recovered since, and the Conservatives often find any excuse to expose this when it comes to any election campaign.

I suppose you can argue this relationship can be down to the Chancellors. Mr Brown was popular doing this job under Tony Blair's leadership. Under Brown's premiership, Alistair Darling had a near total opposite effect. Ed Balls only became popular after he was Shadow Chancellor for almost five years under Ed Miliband. When David Cameron was Prime Minister, during the general election campaign of 2015, he would regularly refer to that infamous letter written in 2010 by then Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liam Byrne, saying there was no money left in the government kitty - something Mr Balls would laugh off. That didn't do Labour any favours when trying to flirt with business leaders.

It's a funny tale this time around. If no dramatic resignations occur between now and September, this autumn will mark four years of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader and John McDonnell as Shadow Chancellor - both of whom vying to lead a government. Their policies are considered too radical for many, as neither won't hide the fact they want to renationalise the railway, water, Royal Mail and so on.

Their renationalisation pleas have softened a little in recent years due to the EU exit, whenever that will take place. This has helped John McDonnell somewhat as he's been using his platform to meet with owners of huge companies and discuss his vision. Publicly their views are muted - well, I've not heard any CEO go to the press and say "I've just met the Shadow Chancellor and oh boy, we're in trouble if he ever were to hold the keys of 11 Downing Street." Unless they're saving their golden quotes like the one I just made up for the next general election campaign, again, whenever that is.

John McDonnell (Image: Daily Express)

So with McDonnell doing okay, it leaves Jeremy Corbyn in a right pickle. Why? It's because of his baggage that is making business owners uneasy. The Sunday Times revealed their annual Rich List on Sunday 12th May and among those multimillionaires and billionaires surveyed, they admit being more scared of Corbyn being Prime Minister than when Britain leaves the European Union. This is despite the fact that the vast majority of them campaigned for Remain three years ago while several reportedly plan to move their headquarters to different parts of Europe as a consequence of 'Brexit'.

Ladies and gentlemen, brace yourselves for Corbygeddon!

Is Corbyn really as fearful as people picture him to be? Is he really going to be that Robin Hood figure where he takes from the rich and gives to the poor? He doesn't hide the fact that he wants to increase taxes on the riches and on businesses. You'll notice he is keeping his views on these quiet while McDonnell takes over and offers his charm instead. But this doesn't stop Corbyn from having his own ambitions around how people are paid. He's recently vowed for people under the age of 18 to be paid £10 per hour, equivalent to what over 25-year-olds get paid under the National Living Wage introduced by the current Conservative government.

Business leaders have reacted with horror over the notion they could pay young people in excess of £375 per week, before taxes, if they worked the standard 37.5 hours, Monday to Friday. At the moment, 18 year olds are paid £6.15 per hour so you can imagine why businesses are reluctant to give people that age such a big pay rise.

I do believe that this is a Corbyn ambition, as opposed to a Corbyn reality. I don't think he will say on his first day, "I'm pleased to be Prime Minister. Teenagers, here's your pay rise." If, hypothetically speaking, he becomes Prime Minister by the next scheduled general election, in 2022, he could make it policy by the end of that Parliament, in 2027. I would like to think the economy will have progressed enough in eight years' time for young people to be paid £10 per hour.

In the meantime, I feel Corbyn made this announcement to make a point, and it should actually give businesses a kick up the backside. There is a growing need for influential leaders in top organisations to understand the current patterns of millennials, rather than either overlooking them or hiring them because they know the youngster's uncle's cousin's half-sister. Young people are getting increasingly entrepreneurial and eloquently vocal in what they want from the world. If they see a job that pays them £5 per hour, they aren't going to go for it. They do want more, and why should we deny them that extra bit of cash? It isn't about taking liberties. It is about giving them the trust and will to do a job well, and at the same rate as what an employee older than them gets.

Undertaking apprenticeships (Image: Lawyer Monthly)

Besides, it wouldn't exactly cost businesses an arm and a leg to hire young people anyway. Employment among those between 16-17 year olds has decreased from 65% in 1993 to 44% last year, there are 18% fewer apprenticeship starters this year compared to 2016/17, while university applications this year have increased for the first time in three years. Not only that, but home ownership among young people is on the decline, and so is the rate of teenage pregnancy. My guess is that all these factors could be down to stagnating wages and a lack of encouragement for our next generation to enter the world of employment sooner. It's really important to look at the entire picture before conclusively concluding how we should treat the next generation.

What Corbyn needs to consider is that, by encouraging young people to work and get the wage they deserve, comes from transforming an education system that helps teenagers be work-ready, as opposed to being fully exam-ready. What happened to the policies where schools partnered with local businesses? Many schools don't have the facilities to help close the widening skills gap and neither would businesses, if many young people continue entering work without the required skillset. And therefore, organisations won't want to be in a position to pay a 16-year-old the same salary as a 25-year-old, with greater experience, unless they had the total confidence the teenager would do the same job as effectively.

What I would love to see is business leaders and a potential Corbyn government working together to ensure that, by 2027, more young people are in a position to obtain jobs and be paid £10 an hour, justifiably. If we are to take closing the skills gap seriously, there is a greater need for the education system and the economy to work hand-in-hand. More young people want to be social media stars and feature on Love Island rather than apply for a degree at Cambridge and Oxford Universities. It doesn't need to be that way, and it won't, unless we carry on ignoring their creativity and potential.