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Minimum wage of at least £12 and an end to rip-off youth rates – Usdaw gives evidence to the Low Pay Commission

Date: 21 June 2022 Retail trade union Usdaw has provided written evidence to the Low Pay Commission (LPC) on minimum wage rates. The LPC’s annual call for evidence closed on Monday 20 June and responses will help shape the recommendations they will make to the Government this autumn on the 2022 minimum wage rates.
Usdaw’s full submission: www.usdaw.org.uk/LPC2022
 
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “Before the cost of living crisis, Britain desperately needed a pay rise. Now, with inflation raging beyond 11%, many workers are reaching breaking point. We have provided the Low Pay Commission with evidence of why we need a new deal for workers that includes at least £12 per hour as a step toward £15, an end to youth rates and more secure employment.
 
“Usdaw’s survey of members found that two-thirds have relied on borrowing to pay their everyday bills and around half of them are struggling with repayments. 82% of working parents feel worse off now than they did last year, more than a quarter of all parents have missed meals in the last year to pay bills. Two-thirds are significantly cutting down on heating. Shockingly, a quarter will no longer use the heating at all.
 
“These are the very real experiences of essential workers who were clapped during the pandemic and now seem to be forgotten. The Government has offered only sticking plasters that go nowhere near covering rising prices and bills, so there needs to be significant increases in minimum wage rates and fundamental reforms to end insecure work.
 
“Usdaw’s response to the Low Pay Commission’s consultation on next year’s minimum wage rates calls for at least £12 per hour as a step towards £15 for all workers, ending rip-off youth rates. If you’re old enough to do the job, you’re old enough to be paid the rate for the job.
 
Usdaw’s New Deal for Workers calls for:
  • Minimum wage of at least £12 per hour as a step towards £15 for all workers, ending rip-off youth rates.
  • Minimum contract of 16 hours per week, for everyone who wants it, that reflects normal hours worked and a ban on zero-hour contracts.
  • Better sick pay for all workers, from day one, at average earnings.
  • Protection at work, respect for shopworkers, abuse is not a part of the job.
  • Proper social security system, Universal Credit does not provide an effective safety net.
  • Job security, with day one employment rights for unfair dismissal and significant improvements to redundancy protections.
  • Fair treatment and equality for all workers, including equal pay.
  • Voice at work, stop rogue employers refusing to engage with trade unions and end ‘fire and rehire’. 
Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry 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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The official website of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers