Third of workers being paid below real living wage in parts of Shropshire

The real living wage, set by the Living Wage Foundation, was increased to £9.30 per hour at the start of November.

But new figures shared by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) show over one fifth of employees in Shropshire and Mid Wales are being paid a lower rate.

In the Ludlow constituency that figure is far higher at 32.5 per cent –the fourth highest in the West Midlands.

In The Wrekin, 26.9 per cent of workers are paid less than the living wage while in Shrewsbury and Atcham it is 24.3 per cent.

Meanwhile 22.2 per cent of workers in North Shropshire are paid below the set rate.

On 21.5 per cent, Telford constituency is the only one in Shropshire with less workers paid below the living wage than the West Midlands Average of 21.7 per cent. The UK average is 20.1 per cent.

The TUC is calling for employers, and the next government, to do more to tackle the problem of low pay.

TUC Midlands Regional Secretary, Lee Barron, said: “Work should be a route out of poverty, but sadly this simply isn’t the case for too many families in the West Midlands today.

Scandal

"How can it be right that more than one in five workers earn less than the Living Wage when we know that child poverty has more than doubled in the West Midlands since 2010?

"We need a step change with pay to end the scandal of low pay and poverty in our region. We need to see wider adoption of the Living Wage, the extension of collective bargaining and investment in skills."

Figures from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) estimate that 556,800 jobs in the West Midlands, representing 21.7 per cent, pay below the living wage rate.

In Wales, figures from the Office for National Statistics show 268,000 employees are paid below the Real Living Wage rate. This figure represents 22.6 per cent of all jobs in the country.

Both Mid Wales constituencies have a higher than average number of workers on a lower rate. The figure for Montgomeryshire is 26.6 per cent, and Brecon and Radnorshire is on 22.9 per cent.

Joe Allen, Wales TUC Policy Officer, said: “These numbers show that for too many people low pay is a problem that isn’t going away.

“The impact on workers is clear for all to see. We’ve seen the dramatic growth in food bank use and a sharp rise in household debt.”