Jessica Morden Jessica Morden - Labour MP for Newport East, PPS to Keir Starmer and Shadow Minister for Wales
I’m supporting the Usdaw Union ‘time for better pay’ petition.
The Usdaw campaign is calling on the Government to strengthen workers’ rights by introducing a minimum wage of at least £10 per hour for all workers; a minimum contract of 16 hours per week for everyone who wants it; a contract based on an individual’s normal hours of work; and an end to the use of exploitative zero-hours contracts.
The campaign centres on a petition on the .gov website, launched by Usdaw General Secretary Paddy Lillis, which seeks 100,000 signatures to secure a Government response and possible parliamentary debate.
Research from Usdaw shows that over the past five years more and more working people have seen no improvement in their financial situation, and in the last 12 months along 76% of low-paid workers have had to rely on unsecured borrowing to pay everyday bills. Alarmingly, Usdaw’s evidence also suggests that 63% of people believe that financial worries are having an impact on their mental health.
This is not a situation we should accept, and I fully support the union’s campaign to tackle low pay and insecure work.
The Usdaw petition can be accessed at: www.usdaw.org.uk/T4BP