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Commenting on the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission’s first annual ‘State of the Nation’ report published today (Thursday), TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

Commenting on the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission’s first annual ‘State of the Nation’ report published today (Thursday), TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“The UK’s living standards crisis isn’t just hurting families today, it risks causing more poverty and poorer career prospects for future generations too.

“The government has made the crisis worse with social security cuts that have hit low-paid working families hard.

“In-work poverty can only be tackled through higher wages and a decent safety net for those who fall on hard times. This means a higher minimum wage and encouraging employers to pay fairer wages through living wage agreements and new wage councils. It also means the government must stop its assault on social security that is hurting low-paid workers as well as those seeking jobs.

“Britain needs a pay rise to tackle child poverty and improve social mobility. Ministers must work with unions and employers to ensure that the benefits of our recovery are shared fairly throughout the workforce.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The ‘State of the Nation’ report is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-of-the-nation-2013

- The TUC’s campaign plan can be downloaded from www.tuc.org.uk/campaignplan

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen   T: 020 7467 1248    M: 07778 158175    E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth    T: 020 7467 1372    M: 07717 531150     E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk
Elly Gibson   T: 020 7467 1337    M: 07900 910624     E: egibson@tuc.org.uk

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