20/03/2016 BBC Wales Today

Welsh firms will face added financial pressure as a result

That's according to the body that represents retailers in Wales.

The staff pay rise comes into force in April.

More details now from our political reporter Cemlyn Davies.

Since the '50s, Parsons Pickles has been bottling local cockles

and mussels to be sent all over the UK from its home in Burry Port.

At the moment, many of the workers here are close

That is ?6.70 an hour for those over 21 years old, but next month,

the staff here will get a pay rise when the new living

That will take the minimum wage for workers aged 25 and over

to ?7.20 an hour, 50p more than the current rate.

I think it will be good because it will help towards the cost of living

and I've got a mortgage so it will help me.

That's for my kids and everything, for the future, it's

all going in the right direction.

Although 50p may not sound much, this company's wage bill is set

to rise by ?20,000 a year according to the managing director.

It's not just the ?7.20 it has gone up to.

Obviously people who have responsibility and who are on that

little bit more or more again, we've got to put it up pro rata.

Whilst Collin says the company can cope for now, he believes future

increases to the living wage could force the company

Its businesses like this one where the work isn't perhaps

particularly skilled that are likely to be most greatly affected

by the introduction of a new living wage.

Hospitality and retail are other sectors that could well

The British Retail Consortium recently claimed nearly a million

jobs could be lost across the UK as a result of the pressures

on businesses, including the living wage.

It is estimated 74,000 shops will close and Wales will be

disproportionately affected compared to other parts of the UK.

Our own reports are showing that there is a potential loss

of over 900,000 jobs over the next decade across the UK,

but our modelling has shown that it is likely to fall most

heavily on areas like Wales where we possibly have a more

We are seeing accelerated rates of shop closures in Wales,

we're also seeing higher rates of footfall decline.

The national minimum wage for those below 25 years old goes up

in October and the UK Government wants to see the hourly living

In response, the UK Government told us it created the living wage

to enable low wage workers to share in economic growth.

A union has said it won't speculate on the outcome of a Tata Steel board

meeting later this month, where it's hoped a plan

to save the Port Talbot plant will be approved.

750 job losses were announced in January, as part of measures

to protect thousands more jobs at the site.

Reports in one Sunday newspaper raise concerns that the plan,

which involves new investment, won't be backed by the board.

Tata says it's invested significantly in its UK operations.

For the first time, television cameras are to be allowed

into certain crown courts in Wales and England.

Cardiff Crown Court will be part of a three-month pilot scheme

Judges will be filmed giving their sentencing remarks.

But the footage won't be broadcast and it will be reviewed to assess

Royal Navy crew members from HMS Monmouth were given the freedom

Hundreds turned out to watch the ship's company parade

through the centre of Monmouth, before a military and civic

The ship is docked at Cardiff's Britannia Dock until Thursday.

Rugby and Wales' women have lost the final Six Nations game

Despite two tries from Sioned Harris, they went down by 16

points to 12 against Italy in Aberavon.

A look at tomorrow's weather forecast and any mist or fog

at first will soon clear to leave a dry but rather cloudy day.

There's likely to be hill fog over higher ground,

but increasing breaks in the cloud should allow some sunny spells.

That's it from the Wales Today Sunday team.

We're back in Breakfast with updates and that's from 6.25am.

From all of us on the weekend team, a very goodnight.

Hello. There are some changes on the way later this week but through the

rest of the night we are chasing areas of cloud again. Temperatures

should recover in Scotland and Northern Ireland