"Britain needs a pay rise" and the Green Party will provide it

17 October 2014

 

 

Tomorrow Green Party leaders and members will march alongside the Trades Union Congress(TUC) in a mass protest against the growing pay inequalities in Britain under the Coalition Government.

The number of people facing “in-work poverty” and forced to claim benefits whilst working has risen 59% under the Coalition Government, according to the House of Commons Library, leaving people struggling to pay rent and bills on static or decreasing wages. (1)

The current minimum wage is £6.50, but the Green Party has today argued that this should rise to £10 per hour, making it a living wage and ensuring that everyone earns an income they can build a life around.

 Green Party Leader, Natalie Bennett said:

“Our low wage economy of rampant insecurity with forced casualisation and zero-hours contracts isn't sustainable: workers need jobs they can build a life on, and on which we can build a fairer and more equal society.

“Our current minimum wage of £6.50 is significantly below the Living Wage Foundation's calculation of the minimal acceptable standard of £7.65.

 “That's why the Green Party is calling for the minimum wage to be made a living wage today, and for a target to be set of a £10/hour minimum wage by 2020 - assuming with inflation pay rises each year in the next parliament. We need to move over towards a 10:1 pay ratio so that we bring an end to a culture in which corporations make huge profits and give out big bonuses whilst there are workers struggling to pay the bills.”


 
The TUC demonstration will take place on Saturday 18 October 2014, and will begin with a march through central London, culminating in a rally in Hyde Park.

 

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