Labour leader Ed Miliband has pledged to raise the national minimum wage to at least £8 an hour if he becomes Prime Minister.
The minimum wage is due to rise from £6.31 an hour to £6.50 on October 1, but Mr Miliband plans to add £1.50 an hour on to that by 2020.
His increase would add around £60 a week, or £3,000 a year, to the pay packets of workers currently on the minimum wage.
And he said the rise would save the taxpayer "hundreds of millions of pounds" in welfare payments.
One in five UK workers - more than five million people - are categorised as being on low pay, defined as wages of less than £7.71 an hour.
Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, Mr Miliband said: "Too many working people have made big sacrifices but in this recovery they're not seeing the rewards for their hard work because, under the Tories' failing plan, the recovery is benefiting a privileged few far more than most families.
"One in five of the men and women employed in Britain today do the hours, make their contribution, but find themselves on low pay.
"But if you work hard, you should be able to bring up your family with dignity."
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