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The law should be changed to ensure apprentices receive the minimum wage in recognition of the work they do, according to one organisation.
Unison has submitted proposals for the extension of the minimum wage to the Low Pay Commission, which is investigating the issue as part of a review of the national minimum wage regulations.
It said the current system, under which apprentices below the age of 19 or in their first year of a scheme are not entitled to receive the minimum wage, is "unfair".
Unison claimed that research it conducted showed most apprentices do a full-time job and carry out the same duties as their colleagues, yet earn less.
The system has enabled "frequent misuses of the training rate by employers, as well as inconsistent training quality", it asserted.
Research carried out by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) showed female migrant workers are more likely than any other group to be paid a rate below the minimum wage.
Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, said there should be a crack down on "mean bosses not paying their staff the legal wage to which they are entitled".
