Women’s low pay the norm says TUC

The TUC said most part-time women workers in over 50 local authority areas were on less than the living wage, including three out of four in West Lancashire and two-thirds in West Somerset.

The union organisation called on employers to tackle the issue, adding that the Government could lead by example by making sure firms winning contracts paid their staff the living wage – currently set at £7.65 and hour and £8.80 in London, compared with the national minimum wage of £6.31.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Women are bearing the brunt of growing in-work poverty across Britain today.

“The living wage was created so that work can provide staff with a basic standard of living, but in many parts of Britain, most women working part-time are way off earning this.

“Women of all ages and skill levels often find themselves trapped in low paid jobs. Opening up more senior jobs to part-time working is part of the solution, but we also need to look at why so many jobs in Britain pay so little when employers can easily afford to pay staff more.”