Nearly 200,000 key workers in Wales¬ earn less than £10 an hour – Wales TUC

• On May Day, Wales TUC calls for a pay rise for all key workers
• Wales TUC outlines five ways the government can “really thank” frontline workers

Nearly 200,000 key workers in Wales are paid less than £10 an hour, according to new Wales TUC analysis published today (Friday).

Trade unionists around the country are marking May Day – also known as International Workers’ Day – with an online #ThankAWorker / #GweithwyrGwych action, expressing gratitude to key workers who have made a difference to them during lockdown.

But the Wales TUC believes that, as well as thanking workers, more must be done to improve their pay and conditions.

Underpaid and insecure

New Wales TUC analysis, published today, reveals that nationally:

• Nearly 4 in 10 key workers in Wales – an estimated 187,000 people – are paid less than £10 an hour.
• Women are much more likely than men to be key workers and, when they are, are much more likely to be on low pay.
• In social care, almost 6 in 10 care workers earn less than the Real Living Wage.

Many key workers are also trapped in insecure work, without guaranteed hours and often missing out on basic rights like sick pay. For example, almost 1 in 10 retail workers are employed on zero-hour contracts, which mean their hours of work and pay packets can vary significantly.

Recognising key workers’ contribution

In recognition of the contribution of key workers during this period, the TUC is calling on the UK Government to:

1. Increase the minimum wage to £10 an hour for everyone now.
2. Deliver fair pay rises for our key workers and rewards for workers across the economy that restore what they’ve lost through ten years of cuts and slow growth.
3. Ban zero-hours contracts and stamp out false self-employment.
4. Increase sick pay to the real living wage and make sure everyone can get it from day one.
5. Bring outsourced workers back into the public sector on public sector terms and conditions.

Wales TUC General Secretary Shavanah Taj said:

“Everyone who’s kept Wales going through this pandemic deserves a pay rise.

“Frontline workers are putting their own health on the line to look after the rest of us. They’re caring for the sick and vulnerable, getting us to work, keeping our shelves stocked and our vital services running.

“Now it’s time to give key workers a proper thank you. And that means getting money into their pockets now.

“All key workers must get the pay, conditions and respect they deserve. That’s how to really thank the people who got us through this crisis.”