Stockport Labour Group is calling for more be done for local working people after new figures revealed that 24,000 jobs in Stockport pay less than a living wage.
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings from the Office for National Statistics showed that 23.2% of local workers, almost one in four people, earn less than the £7.85 per hour rate.
Labour Spokesperson Councillor Kate Butler said, ‘The benefits of the economic recovery are still being shared amongst the few rather than by the many.
‘To make the impact of these continued low levels of pay even worse, in the run up to Christmas 14,780 working families in Stockport will receive the news from this Government that they are facing cuts to tax credits, with an average loss of £1,300 each.
‘Promises by the Tories to be on the side of working people will seem pretty hollow to those in Stockport who have had to endure the longest fall in living standards on record and now are being faced with massive cuts to their tax credits.’
The independent Institute for Fiscal Studies has analysed Government changes and found that the ‘National Living Wage’, £7.20 from April 2016, will only go 26% of the way to compensating working households for losses of benefits.
Separately, The Resolution Foundation has estimated that 200,000 children will be pushed into poverty next year overall as a result of these proposed tax and benefit changes.
Cllr Butler added, ‘Taken together these changes represent some of the most regressive policies we’ve ever seen – I’d urge the Government to urgently reconsider them.
‘The Low Pay Commission has identified that the industries which see the highest proportion of jobs paying less than the living wage are in retail, accommodation and food services, and the cleaning and care professions.
‘Labour in Stockport will continue to stand up for working people and campaign to stop Tory attempts to make life more difficult for those who are vital to the success of our economy.’
From April 2016 employers will be required to pay a ‘National Living Wage’ of £7.20 an hour for workers aged 25 and older. The Government has instructed the Low Pay Commission to ensure that this wage for over 24s reaches 60% of median earnings by 2020.