Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “The Chancellor set out to blame everyone else for the country going into recession, a cost of living crisis and wages declining in real terms as prices skyrocket. He failed to recognise that 12 years of Conservative stagnation, austerity policies and the disastrous mini-budget have left far too many working families struggling to make ends meet.
 
“Usdaw had called for a meaningful package of support for working people in the Budget including minimum wage rates of at least £12 per hour for all workers, regardless of age; an uprating of benefits by at least the level of RPI inflation; with these measures implemented on 1 January 2023, or sooner. Today the Chancellor failed to do this and instead delivered a real terms minimum wage cut and below inflation benefits increase, making workers wait overs four months, even though he admitted that inflation is not set to fall until the middle of next year. This is simply too little help too late.
 
“Usdaw’s survey of over 7,500 members, mainly key workers, found that: over three-quarters have struggled to pay an energy bill over the past twelve months; 45% no longer use the heating, and over four-in-ten have cut down on other essentials such as food. They need help right now, not in April. Despite this evidence the Chancellor has not listened and the Conservatives continue to punish the lowest paid workers for Conservative economic failures.
 
“Our members need a new deal for workers, which could help give working people the protections they deserve; a new deal that will end low-paid insecure employment, giving workers the dignity of a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. Keir Starmer offers the hope and change our members need. The time is up for the Tories, we need a general election and a Labour Government to put Britain back on track.”

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