LOW-WAGED workers will today be promised their first above-inflation pay rise since the Tories took power.

Adults aged 21 and above will benefit from a 3 per cent boost to the national minimum wage from October, which will rise from £6.31 to £6.50. 

But the TUC pointed out low earners would have 50p-an-hour more in their pocket if wages had kept pace with inflation. 

General secretary Frances O’Grady said: “It is good news to see the worst-paid adult workers receiving a pay release above inflation for the first time for four years. 

“But it’s a muted celebration because the minimum wage would be worth at least £7 today had it kept up with rising prices.”

Her message came as the TUC finalises its preparations for its huge Britain Needs a Pay Rise march and rally in London on October 18. 

Apprentices and workers aged under 20 were robbed once again of an above-inflation top-up — receiving just 2 per cent. 

And the TUC believes around 60 per cent of Britain’s minimum wage workers are women. 

The Resolution Foundation revealed that the number of workers stuck on the rate has hit an all-time high. 

Its research found 1.2 million people are stuck on poverty pay — twice as many compared with when the rate was introduced in April 1999.

Chief economist Matthew Whittaker said: “The increased ‘stickiness’ of jobs on the minimum wage points to a wider problem of low pay in Britain.”