This is the last article you can read this month
You can read more article this month
You can read more articles this month
Sorry your limit is up for this month
Reset on:
Please help support the Morning Star by subscribing here
THE majority of low-paid workers are using foodbanks and more than a third have skipped meals as the cost of living continues to bite, research has found.
The Living Wage Foundation surveyed workers who earn less than the real living wage and found that measures of severe financial hardship remain well above pre-cost-crisis levels.
Sixty per cent were found to have used a foodbank in the last year, up from 56 per cent in the previous year.
Of these, 43 per cent said they visited a foodbank at least once a month.
Workers on the lowest pay have been hit hardest by higher food and energy costs because they spend a greater proportion of their income on these necessities, the foundation said.
More than 3.5 million workers earn below the voluntary wage rate set out by the foundation of £11.95 in London and £10.90 elsewhere.
The rate compares to the statutory national living wage of £10.42 an hour for all adults.
The foundation will announce 2023-24’s living wage rates next month.
Half of workers earning under the living wage are worse off than a year ago, the survey also found, with 39 per cent saying they regularly skipped meals because they could not afford it.
The same number of people had fallen behind with household bills and 32 per cent had been unable to heat their homes.
Living Wage Foundation director Katherine Chapman said: “After more than a year of record price rises, we are finally starting to see inflation ease.
“But today’s research shows that the cost-of-living crisis is far from over, especially for the 3.5m workers who are paid less than the real living wage.
“More needs to be done to protect the lowest paid workers.
“Despite tough economic times, it is heartening that employers are doing right by their staff and signing up to become living wage employers.
“Employers can protect their staff from rising prices by joining the movement of over 13,000 businesses who pay a real living wage calculated based on living costs every year.”
A government spokesperson said: “We are on track to halve inflation, which is the most effective way to put more money in the pockets of hard-working families.”
