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july 2008 Poverty wagesToo many workers are living in poverty, says Niall Cooper
If any good has come out of the debacle over the government’s abolition of the 10p income tax band, it has been to cast light on the reality of low pay. More than five million people are now low paid – receiving less than £6.67 an hour – or around £12,000 a year for a 35-hour working week. Even with the National Minimum Wage, work has not provided many families with a means of escaping poverty. In fact, half of all children in poverty now live in a household in which someone is working.
Low pay forces people to make impossible choices when income will not go far enough to buy food or heat the house, feed the children or pay the rent. The result can be spiralling debt, constant anxiety and long-term health problems. When adults have to work long hours or do two or three jobs to pay the bills, they are unlikely to have time to spend with their family, much less to help out at their children’s school or participate in church or community activities.
In response, a number of “living wage” campaigns have developed across the UK, which address the demand for decent pay directly to employers. The idea of a living wage is based on a simple but powerful premise: that anyone who works full-time for a living should not have to raise a family in poverty.
This article is continued in the July 08 edition of Reform.
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