Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “The Chancellor remained silent on Universal Credit when he delivered his Spring Statement, so today claimants are only receiving a pitiful 3.1% increase when inflation is over 8%. That is a huge real terms cut in income for the lowest paid workers.
“On top of the low uprating, Universal Credit remains universally discredited. Usdaw has consistently called for the rollout of Universal Credit to be halted, to allow a full review and overhaul of how the Government supports the incomes of working people. We need a proper social security system that supports families and provides a proper safety net, particularly in a cost of living crisis.
“The Prime Minister promised to ‘build back better’, but regrettably it seems to be more like ‘business as usual’. As the cost of living crisis rages, with RPI at its highest rate in over 30 years, the Government has simply failed to Usdaw has long called for a fundamental reform of Universal Credit, including:
- Significant investment in Universal Credit, to ensure it provides a social security benefit that more consistently supports workers in low-paid employment.
- Five week wait scrapped, by making advance payments non-repayable.
- Two-child limit removed.
- Reducing the taper rate and increasing the work allowance to incentivise work.
- Benefit Cap stopped.
- Universal Credit payments paid to the main carer by default.
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades.
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter
@UsdawUnion