Key workers in Wakefield meet tonight to demand Imran Khan support a pay rise, but MP is a no show

Key workers in Wakefield constituency will tonight (Friday) hold a public meeting to share their experiences working on the frontline of the pandemic, and demand that their MP support a pay rise for all key workers.

Imran Ahmad Khan was invited by constituents working in social care, the NHS and retail, to hear how they have struggled during the pandemic. But the MP has so far not responded.

The key workers will make a public demand for their MP to sign an open letter to the Chancellor calling for a pay rise in the budget next week.

According to TUC research published on 5 February, 7,500 public sector workers in Wakefield constituency will lose £4.5 million pounds in pay thanks to the Chancellor’s pay freeze announced in November 2020.

Key workers have been organising dozens of meetings with their MPs around the country (including 5 in Yorkshire) to ask them to support a public letter to the Chancellor in support of pay rises for all key workers.

Lots of Labour MPs are signing the letter. And some conservative support too, with Iain Duncan Smith the first Conservative to confirm he will sign.

Trade unions are calling for a ‘Workers’ Budget’. Alongside pay rises for key workers they are seeking:

• • A rise in the minimum wage to £10 an hour
  • Extension of furlough support to at least the end of the year
  • Universal sick pay rights for all workers, paying at last the same as the real living wage (£330 pw)
  • Action to improve workplace safety, with more funding for health and safety inspection and enforcement
  • Investment in support of job creation, to prevent mass unemployment - including £85bn capital investment in green infrastructure to create 1.2 million jobs over the next two years, and funding to unlock 600,000 jobs, filling vacancies and gaps in public services.

Trade unions will hold a national digital rally at 7.30pm on Thursday night, with Labour Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds as one of the speakers.

Bill Adams, TUC Regional Secretary said “Yorkshire needs a workers budget to make sure we have a strong recovery from the pandemic. And to make sure that we build back a fairer economy for working people in Yorkshire and their families. We need to make sure that every key worker gets the pay rise they have earned for their extraordinary efforts in the pandemic. And if the Chancellor acts to protect pay growth, the spending boost will help our businesses and high streets recover faster too.”

ENDS