ONE in six workers have been forced to skip meals regularly to make ends meet, a TUC poll revealed today.

The survey of 2,544 adults found that those working full or part-time had skipped a meal every day (2 per cent), most days (8 per cent), or every week (7 per cent) in the last three months. 

More than a fifth (23 per cent) said they were struggling to afford or could not afford their monthly bills. 

One in 10 reported that they had been forced into debt in most months or every month of the last year.

Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of working adults said they had made large or significant cutbacks to food spending over the last year. 

And 31 per cent of working adults said they avoided putting the heating on most days or every day.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said the findings underline the importance of the government’s Make Work Pay agenda.

The plan promises to strengthen workers’ rights by banning zero-hours contracts and fire and rehire through the Employment Rights Bill, which is set to return to Parliament this week.

The legislation, currently at the committee stage, will also introduce a new remit for the Low Pay Commission to reflect the cost of living when setting minimum wage rates.

Mr Nowak said: “Every worker deserves to earn a decent living. But many working households are struggling to make ends meet. 

“After 14 years of Tory chaos and stagnation, we urgently need to boost living standards and to get more money into people’s pockets. This is vital for workers and for local economies too. 

“The Employment Rights Bill will crack down on insecure work, boost sick pay and establish a fair work agency to tackle bad bosses.  

“We cannot continue with the same broken status quo.” 

According to the TUC, pay growth under Tory rule from 2010 to 2024 was worse than for any other period of government since the 1920s. 

Its analysis found that real wages had grown during this period by just 0.3 per cent a year, compared to 1.5 per cent from 1997 to 2010.