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TUC CONGRESS 2021 One in ten carers trapped on universal credit due to low pay, study finds

ONE in 10 care workers in England are trapped on universal credit (UC) due to low wages, research published today suggests.

The GMB union found that care workers were paid £8.72 per hour on average last year. A third were on zero-hours contracts, rising to half in London.

GMB national officer Kelly Andrews said: “It should be a source of national shame that the dedicated care workers who supported and cared for individuals and kept many alive during pandemic are paid so badly that they are on UC.

“Our care sector is already facing up to 170,000 vacancies by the end of the year and a mandatory vaccine that could force thousands more away.

“With the government’s plan to slash UC payments by £20 a week in October, we are heading for a perfect storm.”

The GMB is taking its campaign for a £15-per-hour minimum wage for care workers to the TUC Congress this week.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “If the UC cut goes ahead, lots of care workers will be forced to get by on much less every week.

“It is levelling down — not levelling up. Ministers should abandon this cruel cut that will hit low-income working families.”

The government announced a national insurance hike last week with the aim of increasing funding for the health and social care sector.

Labour set out alternative proposals to reform the social care system yesterday, including investment in staff salaries and proper respite support.

In Scotland, plans to temporarily double the carer’s allowance supplement for unpaid carers — from £231.40 to £462.80 — have been backed by Holyrood’s social security committee.

The committee also called on the Scottish government to consider further increases beyond the one-off measure, which would boost payments this December.

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