Usdaw conducted a survey of over ten and a half thousand workers and the findings are stark, showing clearly the true extent of Britain’s broken economy.
- 7 in 10 low paid workers are struggling to pay gas and electricity bills.
- A third have missed or been late with rent and mortgage repayments,
- 50% of low paid workers have missed meals to pay for essential bills and close to 1 in 10 have used food banks to feed themselves and their families.
Moving a contemporary motion on in-work poverty at Labour Conference in Liverpool,
Paddy Lillis - Usdaw General Secretary said: “This in the 6th richest economy in the world and our survey findings are a roll-call of shame for this Government. Workers on low pay and short-hours contracts are struggling and every time a Tory minister brag about this supposedly strong economy, all I can hear is a total disregard for the day-to-day struggles working people in this country are facing.
“However bad it is now, the Conservative Government’s Universal Credit is about to make life a lot worse for millions of low-paid workers. Nothing epitomises Tory arrogance like their approach to Universal Credit. They’ve designed a system that doesn’t work in the real world. A system which everyone knows is broken. Yet still they plough on regardless.
“A quarter of the people we surveyed currently rely on in-work benefits. Under the current plans they will in the near future be moved on to Universal Credit. When they do they will lose out for simple things like being paid on a four weekly basis or having a change in their hours.
“I am today calling on the Government to immediately halt the roll-out of Universal Credit. I am calling for a fundamental rethink and for a complete overhaul of a system that is broken and will not work.
“Usdaw’s research underlines the desperate need for change in this country. We found that people working on secure, better paid contracts are 50% less likely to be claiming welfare payments and will not be missing meals in order to pay everyday bills. This need for radical change forms the basis of Usdaw’s Time for Better Pay campaign.
“So we ask that you stand with us in this campaign, as we call for radical change. We need: A minimum rate of £10 per hour for all workers; A minimum contract of 16 hours per week for everyone who wants it, and a statutory right to a contract that reflects an individual’s normal working hours. Now is the 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 around 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
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