Zarah ChoudharyOne in six (17%) of full or part time workers have skipped a meal every day (2%), most days (8%) or every week (7%) to reduce their spending in the last three months, according to YouGov polling published by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) on 13th January 2024.
The poll of 2,544 adults in the UK – of whom 1,513 worked full or part-time – showed that many workers continued to struggle with the cost of living.
One in 10 (10%) respondents said they skipped a meal every day or most days.
Nearly a quarter (24%) of adults working full-time and part-time had made large or significant cutbacks on food spending in the past 12 months and 19% had cut back spending largely or significantly on other essentials, such as medicine, personal hygiene products and petrol.
Almost one in four (23%) adults working full-time and part-time said they were struggling to afford or could not afford their monthly costs – with 11% reporting going into debt most months (4%) or every month (7%) over the last year.
Nearly a third (31%) of adults working full-time and part-time had avoided putting the heating on most days (23%) or every day (8%) over the last three months.
One in five (21%) had reduced their use of hot water for showers and baths on most days (16%) or every day (5%) over the last three months to reduce spending.
The TUC said the findings showed the legacy of “14 years of Tory stagnation” – and the importance of Labour’s Make Work Pay agenda.
Under the Conservatives, real wages grew by just 0.3% a year, compared to 1.5% from 1997 to 2010.
At the same time, the number of people in insecure work grew by one million between 2011 and 2023, to 4.1 million.
The TUC estimated that the average worker would be £117 a week better off had pay increased since 2010 at the same pace as between 1997 and 2010.
Pay growth during Conservative-led Government from 2010 to 2024 was worse than for any other period of government since the 1920s.
The TUC said the Government’s Make Work Pay agenda would be essential for improving living standards, putting more money into people’s pockets and placing the economy on a sustainable footing to growth.
It added that the Employment Rights Bill would help deliver a much-needed economic reset, and a departure from the “low growth, low rights” model which characterised 14 years of Conservative Government.
The Bill will return to parliament this week as it continues through its committee stages.
Separate polling carried out for the TUC by Opinium over the summer showed the Government’s reforms were hugely popular across the political spectrum – including with Conservative and Reform voters.
Paul Nowak, general secretary at TUC, said: “Every worker deserves to earn a decent living. But many working households are struggling to make ends meet.
“That’s why the government’s Make Work Pay agenda is so important.
“After 14 years of Tory chaos and stagnation, we urgently need to boost living standards and to get more money into people’s pockets. This is vital for workers and for local economies too.
“The Employment Rights Bill will crack down on insecure work, boost sick pay and establish a Fair Work Agency to tackle bad bosses.
“We cannot continue with the same broken status quo.”
