GMB study show 860,000 workers in the East of England region paid less than £10 per hour
Over 860,000 workers in the East of England region paid less than £10 per hour should vote for Labour promise of higher living wage for a pay rise
National Minimum Wage should be raised to £10 per hour to provide workers with an adequate level of income from a full-time job to enable them to pay the bills and to have a reasonable standard of living says GMB LondonGMB London calls on the 861,600 workers in the East of England earning less than £10 per hour to vote for Labour’s promise to raise the minimum wage to the level of the Living Wage, expected to be £10 per hour by 2020.
A GMB study released today shows that there are over 9.3m jobs in the United Kingdom that pay under £10 per hour. In the East of England there are 861,600 jobs paying under £10 per hour.
The area in the region with the largest number of jobs paying under £10 per hour is Essex with 178,200. Next is Norfolk with 157,500, Hertfordshire with 136,100, Suffolk with 119,800 and Cambridgeshire with 89,100.
Set out in the table below are the number of jobs in the Eastern region by county and unitary authority paying under £10 per hour. See notes to editors for sources and definitions.
|
Number of jobs under £10 per hour |
||
|
United Kingdom |
9,351,600 |
|
|
Eastern |
861,600 |
|
|
1 |
Essex |
178,200 |
|
2 |
Norfolk |
157,500 |
|
3 |
Hertfordshire |
136,100 |
|
4 |
Suffolk |
119,800 |
|
5 |
Cambridgeshire |
89,100 |
|
6 |
Peterborough UA |
37,700 |
|
7 |
Central Bedfordshire UA |
36,500 |
|
8 |
Luton UA |
33,800 |
|
9 |
Bedford UA |
27,300 |
|
10 |
Southend-on-Sea UA |
24,900 |
|
11 |
Thurrock UA |
21,800 |
Warren Kenny, GMB London region secretary, said
“It has been GMB congress policy since 2014 that the National Minimum Wage should be raised to £10 per hour to provide workers with an adequate level of income from a full-time job to enable them to pay the bills and to have a reasonable standard of living.
“The current system of having tax credits to subsidise employers paying low wages is very costly to tax payers and in the long run it is not necessary. Employers should be encouraged to develop effective systems of work and to improve productivity to enable them to pay a minimum of £10 per hour without subsidies from the tax payer.
“The Labour Party election manifesto pledges to raise the minimum wage to the level of the Living Wage for all workers aged 18 or over so that work pays.
“GMB call on the electorate in the Eastern region to support this policy which will be good for the long term future of the UK economy.”
ENDS
Contact: Gary Doolan on 07590 262 504; Tony Warr 07710 631336; Richard O'Leary 07710 631347; Dave Powell 07710 631349; Shaun Graham 07885 706556 or Keith Williams 07710 631339
Notes to Editors
1) The Labour Party manifesto page 47
Raise the Minimum Wage to the level of the Living Wage (expected to be at least £10 per hour by 2020) – for all workers aged 18 or over, so that work pays.
2) Earnings data is from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2016, Office for National Statistics. Data is for hourly pay for all employees by place of residence excluding overtime. The number earning under £10 per hour has been calculated by using the median percentile figures.
