Government must act on fall in living standards of working families, says TUC

6 July 2017

New research on living standards, published today (Thursday) by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), provides further evidence that life for working families is getting harder, says the TUC.

The JRF report updates its annual figures on Minimum Income Standards for households. It finds that millions of working families are struggling to afford a decent standard of living, and feeling the squeeze from rising prices and cuts to in-work tax credits.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Working families are facing a hard time, with prices rising faster than wages. And government cuts to tax credits are making a bad situation worse.

“The government needs a proper plan to get wages rising. Ministers must stop holding down the pay of public sector workers, and give them their first proper pay rise in 7 years. The minimum wage needs to rise faster, to reach £10 an hour as soon as possible. And more public investment must be targeted to communities that do not have enough decent jobs.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:
- For full details of the JRF Minimum Income Standards research, go to www.jrf.org.uk
- All TUC press releases can be found at tuc.org.uk/media
- TUC Press Office on Twitter: @tucnews