Welfare Cuts Will Destroy Benefit Of New Living Wage

A record 6.5 million people – almost a quarter of UK workers – will remain trapped on poverty pay next year, despite George Osborne’s 50p-an-hour increase in the national minimum wage. The chancellor announced the introduction of a “national living wage” in his July budget. But the new national minimum will still fall short of an actual “living wage”, calculated on the basis of the cost of basic essentials, including housing, food and transport, that has been the centrepiece of a long-running public campaign. Despite Osborne’s announcement, forecasts are that the number of people struggling to survive on less than the living wage will continue to rise, hitting 6.5 million people, or 24.4% of employees, in 2016 – up from 5 million, or less than 20% of workers, in 2012. Read more on the Guardian website.