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£10 per hour minimum wage would help tackle the gender pay gap - Usdaw says it's 'Time for Better Pay'

Date: 10 September 2018 Shopworkers’ trade union has backed a call, at TUC conference in Manchester, for action to tackle the gender pay gap.
Paddy Lillis, Usdaw General Secretary, today launched a new Usdaw campaign ‘Time for Better Pay’, based on a survey of over 10,000 workers that lays bare the effects of low pay, short and zero hours contracts and insecure work. The survey confirms that, despite many years of equal pay initiatives and research into women’s pay, women continue to be over-represented in lower paid jobs and under-represented in higher paid roles:
  • Only 37% of workers earning over £10 are women.
  • 70% of workers contracted to 16 hours or less are women.
Usdaw’s ‘Time for Better Pay’ campaign tackles the causes of in-work poverty and seeks to develop an economy where work pays. Using the evidence gathered through our extensive research, the campaign is calling for four key actions:
  • £10 per hour minimum wage for all workers over 18.
  • Minimum contract of 16 hours per week for all employees who want it
  • The right to a contract based on an individual’s normal hours of work
  • An end to the misuse of zero hour contracts.
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “Low paid and insecure work is a growing problem and a scourge on society; that is holding back economic growth and affecting the well-being of the workforce. That is at its most stark with women workers.

“The gender pay gap has hit the headlines as a result of new regulations requiring large employers to report on progress, but the focus is often on women in high profile and higher paid sectors. However, our research reveals that it remains a major issue for women in low paid sectors like retail who are clearly not progressing up pay scales at the same rate as male colleagues. Only 37% of workers earning over £10 are women, so our call for a minimum wage of over £10 per hour would help address the gender pay gap for low-paid women workers.

“The ability to balance work and caring responsibilities, along with enough hours to make a living weekly wage are significant challenges for many low-paid women workers. 70% of workers contracted to 16 hours or less are women, so we are calling for a minimum contract of 16 hours for those who want it and a right to a contract that reflect the normal hours worked, with an end to the misuse of zero-hours contracts.

“Given the current slow pace of change, without significant action on pay, it could take 40 years to reach pay parity between men and women. It is time for better pay.”

Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with over 430,000 members. Membership has increased by more than 28% over the decade. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.
 
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion

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