UNISON host cost of living summit

Leaders from across the charity sector have joined Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, and UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea for a roundtable on the cost of living crisis. The event, at UNISON Centre on Friday 10 June, aimed to bring together the various strands of the cost of living crisis and hear views from key stakeholders – to inform policy development and explore opportunities for collective action. Ms McAnea opened the session, outlining UNISON’s particular concerns, and introducing the various themes. The roundtable was based around four questions: What further long-term measures are needed to protect households in the future? How can we build on this support to make the case for higher pay and benefits? How does this pay gap impact public services, and how is the recruitment and retention crisis best addressed? What policy options would break the cycle of low pay, insecure or zero-hour work contracts? In particular, she highlighted the “myth that public sector workers are causing inflation and that they should exercise pay restraint,” adding the example that half of local government workers earn under £25,000 a year. Ms Reeves outlined the three different strands of the cost of living crisis that Labour is looking at – prices, wages and security of work. The major focus seemed to be falling on prices, she said, with energy bills soaring and inflation at a 30-year high. However, the pressure on wages was equally important, particularly in the pu...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: Article News cost of living UNISON Labour Link Source Type: news