The Trade Union Congress (TUC) called on the UK government to raise the minimum wage to £15 an hour for all workers "as soon as possible" to help alleviate the cost-of- living crisis.
Currently workers over 23 are entitled to a minimum pay of £9.50, but the TUC says workers of all ages should be eligible for the same hourly rate.
"Millions of low-wage workers are struggling to make ends meet, living from wage bundle to wage bundle. We are being pushed to the brink by eye-popping bills and soaring prices", said TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady, reports Sky.
"For too long workers have been told that businesses can't afford to pay them more. But again and again the evidence has shown that firms are still making profits and increasing jobs - we can afford higher wages.
“And higher wages are good for the economy - more money in the pockets of working people means more spend on our high streets."
She called on ministers to introduce fair pay agreements to increase pay and productivity in low-paid sectors.
In addition to corporate governance reforms, a "lifelong learning and skills strategy" is proposed.
"Ministers have repeatedly promised a high-wage economy, but to deliver it will require a real plan, not just a convenient political slogan."
A minimum wage increase of two-thirds of average earnings is planned by 2024 under existing government plans.