The TUC is calling for apprentices to be paid the minimum wage, arguing that the current exemption allows employers to pay unacceptably low wages to young people.

A report published this week by the umbrella body for 70 British unions said the exemption particularly discriminates against young female workers.

It quotes the example of a 16-year-old female hairdressing apprentice who worked five days a week for just £25 a week.

Figures gathered by the TUC show that engineering and construction apprentices earn an average of £150 a week.

Raj Jethwa, policy officer for the TUC, said: "In an Apprenticeship, you are learning a trade that gives you the pay and status accorded to you for the rest of your working life. From day one, women earn less than men." The TUC's report, A Manifesto for Young People, calls on the Low Pay Commission to investigate the problem.

The report also warns that although the New Deal for Young People worked well in rural and southern England, it was less beneficial to those in areas of high unemployment.

www.tuc.org.uk.