Living wages will help the economy and reduce the deficit, says TUC

date: 31 October 2014
embargo: 00.01hrs Monday 3 November 2014

Living wages will help the economy and reduce the deficit, says TUC

Responding to the publication today (Monday) of the annual living wage report by KPMG, which finds that more than 5 million workers (5,277,000) are being paid less than the living wage, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“People deserve a fair day’s pay for an honest day’s work. But low pay is blighting the lives of millions of families. And it’s adding to the deficit because it means more spent on tax credits and less collected in tax.

“We have the wrong kind of recovery with the wrong kind of jobs – we need to create far more living wage jobs, with decent hours and permanent contracts.

“The fact is there are employers out there who can afford to pay living wages, but aren’t. It is now time for all responsible employers to commit to adopting this standard, which enables workers to earn just enough to be able to live a decent life.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:
- For a full copy of the KPMG report contact Michael Petrook on 020 7311 5271 or at mike.petrook@kpmg.co.uk
-Living wage rates for the UK and London will be announced on Monday 3 November as part of Living Wage Week 2014. For more information on living wage events visit http://www.livingwage.org.uk/events-living-wage-week-2014
- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk
- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews

Contacts:
Media enquiries:
Tim Nichols   T: 020 7467 1337   M: 07876 452902  E: tnichols@tuc.org.uk
Clare Santry   T: 020 7467 1372    M: 07717 531150   E: csantry@tuc.org.uk