The union is highlighting how the cost of living crisis has a greater impact on women workers and is calling for Welsh Labour to support improving incomes to help the lowest paid make ends meet.
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “Thousands of people living in Wales face a cost of living crisis this winter, as energy and other bills soar. This crisis hasn’t come out of the blue. The ability of workers to cope with energy and other price shocks has been eroded by the longest and deepest squeeze on wages in modern history and by persistent attacks on social security.
“Women in Wales are being disproportionately affected by the current crisis because they are more likely to be poor and have been hit hardest by cuts to social security and public services. Women are the shock absorbers of poverty with the main responsibility for the purchase and preparation of food in families.
“Up to 70% of women in Wales working part-time earn less than the living wage. Women have fewer savings than men, earn less and are more likely to be in debt. Women take more unpaid time out of the labour market because of their caring responsibilities. Cuts in public services are generally replaced by women's unpaid labour, with women the providers of last resort. Disabled and Black and Asian women are at greater risk of poverty.
“While many of the solutions to the current crisis lie with the UK Government, we welcome how the Welsh Government used its devolved powers during the pandemic to boost incomes and reduce living costs. Their package of measures to support people during the crisis included the fuel support scheme and the Cost of Living Support payment. Investment in public transport to reduce transport and fuel costs, in social housing and in social infrastructure, particularly care services, should be a high priority for Welsh Labour.”
Usdaw is calling on the support of Welsh Labour for:
- The abolition of the benefits cap and the two-child limit.
- The conversion of Universal Credit advances into non-repayable grants.
- An end to the no recourse to public funds prohibition, which excludes many migrant women from support.
- That the gendered impact of the cost of living crisis is highlighted and addressed in all decision making.
- A social security system that prevents poverty, addresses inequality and supports the additional needs of women and children.
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is 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.
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion