BRITAIN needs a pay rise” say’s Labour’s candidate Polly Billington who is backing Fair Pay Fortnight. The Trade Union Congress (TUC) launched a series of events across the country to raise awareness of Britain’s cost of living crisis.
Polly went on to say, “Working families are finding things tough at the moment. The cost of energy, food and housing is soaring but wages aren’t keeping up. Living standards are being squeezed and the benefits of a recovering economy aren’t being felt across the country. Getting money back into people’s pockets is essential to securing a strong recovery. That’s why I am backing Labour’s plan to cap rail fares, give more free childcare to help working parents and raise the minimum wage to £8 an hour.”
Recent figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that number of people on zero hours contracts has increase from 1.4 to 1.8 million over the past year. There are now 70 thousand people in the East of England employed on zero hour contracts. The Labour Party have pledged to ban this practice.
Polly condemned exploitative zero hour contracts, she said “If you work regular hours you should get a regular contract. People need job security. I’ve spoken to too many families in Thurrock who struggle to budget from week to week because they cannot count on regular hours.”
