Today’s statistics show that the Retail Prices Index (RPI) rate, which is more reflective of Usdaw members’ experiences, reduced to 2.7%, while the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate dropped to 1.7%.
Usdaw welcomes the progress Labour is making in Government to deliver a new deal for workers to help make work pay, with the publication of the Employment Rights Bill in addition to changing the remit of the Low Pay Commission to take account of the cost of living as well as ending rip-off youth rates.
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw general secretary says: “Too many low-paid workers struggled to make ends meet through the Tory cost of living crisis, which we hope is now coming to an end after three long years. However prices are still rising and people are still struggling. Never again should workers be left unprotected and exposed as wages fail to keep pace with rising prices. The Tory Government repeatedly failed to deliver a much-needed new deal for workers to tackle insecure employment and make sure work provides the dignity of decent pay.
“Labour in government has started to deliver that new deal within the first 100 days as promised, something Usdaw long campaigned for. Labour also changed the Low Pay Commission’s remit so that for the first time they will take into account the cost of living, alongside ending rip-off youth rates. These are welcome protections for workers that should help them through future economic shocks. 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 - September 2024: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/consumerpriceinflation/september2024
Employment Rights Bill: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3737
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter/X @UsdawUnion