Everyone gains from key workers pay rise

IT is a national scandal that a third of key workers have had to use food banks during the pandemic.

After everything they’ve done for us, they deserve a pay rise. But what we heard from the Prime Minister and Chancellor at Tory Party conference is far from that.

Key workers kept us going through the darkest days of the pandemic and now they are facing a pay freeze.

When the supermarkets needed to be stocked, they were there. When the elderly in our community needed care, they were there.

When our hospitals needed to be cleaned, they were there.

This isn’t just about doing the right thing by our key workers. Analysis published by the TUC shows how the economic recovery can be sped up by reversing cuts to key workers’ pay, making pay rises for other workers more likely, too.

Parliamentary constituencies will get an average economic boost of £6.2 million if real-terms pay cuts since 2010 are reversed.

We need our MP to listen and take action. We all stand to gain from key workers receiving the pay rise they deserve.

Darren Harris