Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “The Tories have failed to deliver £9 per hour by next year, as promised in 2015, and we have no faith in them keeping to this promise of £10.50 for over 21s by 2025. Labour’s pledge of £10 for over 16s as soon as they take power provides much needed certainty.

“The Tory’s ‘jam tomorrow’ qualified commitments do not put food on the table for low-paid workers struggling to make ends meet, which is why Usdaw is campaigning for at least £10 per hour. Not in five years, but now. Not a forecast figure, but at least £10 per hour guaranteed.

“Yet again the Tories are trying to pull the wool over peoples’ eyes. Our members need real and substantial government action to tackle low pay and insecure work; not pre-election gimmicks. Only Labour is genuinely pledged to end in-work poverty.”

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 410,000 members. Membership has increased by more than one-third over the last couple of decades. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.

Usdaw’s ‘Time for Better Pay’ campaign: www.usdaw.org.uk/T4BP
 
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion