Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
1 in 3 stressed homes struggle to pay bills
10m low-paid workers suffer ‘cost of living gap’ hardship
TEN million workers are falling behind with household bills as they struggle with low pay, a poll shows.
A third of the UK’S 32 million workers are unable to keep up with the basic cost of living, with many turning to payday loans and credit cards to cope.
One in five face a “cost of living gap” with a monthly shortfall of more than £100. Half of those earning less than £20,000 struggle with bills. The cost of living gap is leading to longer working hours, stress and debt. And one in four fear conditions at work will get worse due to Brexit, the Survation poll of 2,000 workers revealed.
The poll was commissioned by the Centre for Labour and Social Studies, which said it was a national “scandal” full-time workers struggle financially. It said the Government put employment rate statistics “on a pedestal”, ignoring workers’ concerns. Female workers were more likely to say they struggled to keep up with costs and almost 60% of workers whose benefits had been cut found it difficult. Hopes of decent pay rises are also low.
Only 30% of workers expect an aboveinflation rise in 2019 and almost one in four got less in-work and child benefits.
CLASS wants the Government to properly measure job quality and worker wellbeing, and to stop using misleading headline employment statistics alone. It also wants a new Ministry of Labour to strengthen workers’ rights, and the Low Pay Commission to be scrapped and replaced with a Real Living Wage Commission giving workers a say on pay.
Dr Faiza Shaheen, director of CLASS, which will launch its Labour Market Realities report in Parliament tomorrow, said: “The labour market is broken. It is a disgrace. The multiple stresses of low pay and overwork are a serious threat to workers’ health as well as the economy.”
THE Chancellor is being urged to deliver a “rescue package” to help struggling families left worse off because of Government welfare policies.
Work and Pensions Committee chairman Frank Field wants Philip Hammond to use his Spring Statement to help people hit by benefit caps.