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Real Living Wage uprating welcomed by Usdaw, but the campaign continues for a £10 per hour minimum

Date: 05 November 2018 Shopworkers’ trade union leader Paddy Lillis has welcomed today’s increase in Living Wage rates, as set by the Living Wage Foundation, to £9 per hour and a higher rate of £10.55 in London.
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary said: “The National Living Wage alone will not end the scourge of in-work poverty. At £7.83 it is simply a legal minimum for over 25s, sitting alongside the National Minimum Wage for younger workers. Even with an increase in the so-called National Living Wage to £8.21 from April 2019, as announced in the Budget, it remains well below the real Living Wage.
 
“We expect employers to be looking beyond statutory basic rates of pay and that is why we welcome the input of the Living Wage Foundation. Their Living Wage rates are properly researched and reflect the minimum hourly rate workers need to make ends meet and provide a good benchmark for the pay bargaining agenda.
 
“However our objective is a minimum of £10 per hour, with additional London weighting pay, but improving hourly rates alone is not enough. We need look at all aspects of the pay package, security of employment and availability of hours, to help provide workers with a weekly income that they can live on. So our Time for better Pay campaign continues.”
 
Usdaw’s ‘Time for Better Pay’ campaign tackles the causes of in-work poverty and seeks to develop an economy where work pays. A survey of over 10,000 workers has laid bare the issues that working people are facing as a result of low pay, short and zero hours contracts and insecure work. Based on this evidence 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.
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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