The Tories’ three-year long cost of living crisis resulted in prices rising by nearly a third, 31.1%, during their last term in office. Today’s inflation figures show that prices continue to rise, with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) rate, which is more reflective of Usdaw members’ experiences, dipping to 2.9%, while the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate remained unchanged at 2%.
While inflation is at the target rate of 2%, that masks the misery many workers have suffered over the last three years. An Usdaw survey of 6,689 key workers in the retail, pharmaceutical, funeral care, warehouse and distribution sectors, conducted during June 2024, found that:
- Nearly three-quarters feel worse off than they were at the last general election in 2019.
- 72% have struggled to pay energy bills, with a quarter of those struggling every month.
- 62% have taken out loans to pay everyday bills and 45% of them are struggling to keep up with repayments.
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw general secretary says: “Too many low-paid workers are still struggling to make ends meet, despite inflation slowing, as the Tory cost of living crisis continues to cast a long shadow. Inflation first went above the target rate in May 2021 and peaked in double figures for six months. Workers were left exposed as wages failed to keep pace with rising prices. They needed lasting solutions with a new deal for workers to tackle insecure employment and make sure work provides the dignity of decent pay.
“Today, we are looking to the new Labour Government to deliver the new deal Usdaw has long campaigned for. That includes changing the Low Pay Commission’s remit so that for the first time they take into account the cost of living, alongside ending rip-off youth rates. This is the transformational change that the country voted for, after 14 years of Tory chaos, austerity and attacks on workers’ rights.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and 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
www.usdaw.org.uk
Office for National Statistics Inflation Bulletin - June 2024:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/consumerpriceinflation/june2024
Labour’s plan to make work pay: Delivering a new deal for working people
https://labour.org.uk/updates/stories/a-new-deal-for-working-people
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter/X
@UsdawUnion