UK: Six million workers paid less than the living wage

Written on November 2nd, 2015 in politics Comments Off

Published on BBCnews, Nov 1, 2015.

The data showed a “worrying trend” of part-time, female and young workers being most likely to earn below the figure, researchers found.

The living wage, promoted by the Living Wage Foundation, is currently £7.85 an hour and £9.15 in London. It is not compulsory for employers to pay it … //

… A government spokeswoman said the new national living wage would give a direct boost in wages for 2.7m people in the UK, “meaning a full-time worker will earn over £4,800 more by 2020″.

“Treasury analysis shows women and those based outside London and the South East will be the biggest winners when the new national living wage comes into force,” she said.

But Labour’s business secretary Angela Eagle said things were getting worse, not better, for many families. “We need to see more better-paid, high-skilled jobs which pay a living wage, but these figures show that progress is slipping,” she said.

“At the same time the Tories are making life harder for those on low and middle incomes as they cut tax credits and hit families with a work penalty. People are working harder than ever, but will rightly feel that the government is working against them.”

(full text).

Links:

UK: The fight for a living wage will not be won in parliament, but in a shop near you, on The Guardian, by Yvonne Roberts, Oct 31, 2015;

Australia: Flexibility won’t stop Women Retiring in Poverty, on new matilda, by Petra Bueskens, Oct 30, 2015;

Namibia: War against poverty to be fought on all fronts – Geingob, on New Era, Oct 30, 2015 … an extract of President Hage Geingob’s statement at the Official Opening of the National Conference on Wealth Redistribution and Poverty Eradication delivered on October 26 …;

US: Are We Allowed to Say That Marco Rubio Is Lying About His Tax Plan? on Mother Jones, by Kevin Drum, Oct 30, 2015;

TEDx à la Rochelle: les “crises” au coeur des conférences du 7 novembre, dans Sud-Ouest, le 29 oct 2015; La Rochelle accueillera son troisième TEDx (Technology Entertainment Design) le samedi 7 novembre, à 14h30, au forum des Pertuis. Le thème sera Crises ? quelles crises? …;

Soutien aux agriculteurs en difficulté, modifications apportées au calcul des cotisations sociales, dans Boursorama, par Francis Lefebvre, le 29 oct 2015;

Big UK supermarkets adopt different living wage strategies, on Business and Economy, by Andrea Felsted, Oct 28, 2015;

Germany:

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