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ALMOST 70 per cent of workers with disabilities are paid less than the TUC’s minimum wage target of £15 an hour, the trade union body’s research reveals today.
In some regions the proportion of disabled workers affected is even higher – 94 per cent in Wales, 92 per cent in the North East and 88 per cent in the North of Ireland.
The comparable percentage for non-disabled workers nationwide is 44 per cent, 42 per cent in Wales and 37 per cent in the North East.
Disabled women suffer even more – 70 per cent nationwide are paid below the target minimum wage, compared to 68 per cent among disabled male workers.
The TUC is calling on the government to introduce a legal requirement for employers to regularly report on how much they pay disabled workers compared to non-disabled workers.
It also wants to see employers fined if they “do not deliver disabled workers’ legal right to reasonable adjustments.”
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Every worker deserves a decent job on decent pay.
“Being disabled should not mean you’re paid any less or are stuck on worse terms and conditions.”
The TUC wants to see the national minimum wage raised to £15 an hour, the banning of zero-hours contracts under which workers can be summoned to work only when needed, and an end to the scandal of fire and re-hire in which workers are sacked and taken back on lower wages and inferior conditions – as in the P&O Ferries scandal in March last year.
