{"id":20342,"date":"2020-04-01T15:15:58","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T14:15:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=20342"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:44:28","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:44:28","slug":"minimum-wage-heroes-coronavirus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=20342","title":{"rendered":"Minimum wage heroes deserve more"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As the battle to stem the coronavirus epidemic rages on, Britons have woken up to the realisation that it is often the lowest-paid among us whose jobs are most vital in a time of crisis.<\/p>\n

 
\nMinimum wage workers across industries, from shop workers, to delivery drivers, to cleaners, carers, porters and many more are the key workers who are keeping the country going under an emergency lockdown that could last weeks or even months.<\/p>\n

 
\nBut for all their hard work that is now very literally saving others\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 lives, they earn barely enough to decently live their own.<\/p>\n

 
\nOn Wednesday (April 1), the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s minimum wage \u00e2\u20ac\u201c re-branded as the National Living Wage in 2015 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c increased to \u00c2\u01418.72 an hour, up from \u00c2\u01418.21. This rate only applies to workers over the age of 25, and is still far below a real Living Wage, calculated each year by the Living Wage Foundation.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe LWF estimates that a real Living Wage, which reflects the actual cost of living and is the minimum needed to cover basic expenses such as rent, food and bills, should be \u00c2\u014110.75 an hour London and \u00c2\u01419.31 in the rest of the UK.<\/p>\n

 
\nWhile thousands of employers have over the years signed up to be accredited Living Wage employers, far too many pay the bare legal minimum, despite in many cases reporting substantial profits.<\/p>\n

 
\nAs a huge proportion of the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 4m minimum wage workers are forced to keep working amid the crisis, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re risking their lives in work environments that are now doubly dangerous and stressful.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe BBC this week paid homage to the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s minimum wage heroes on its Panorama programme on Monday (March 30) night.<\/p>\n

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Four million people in the UK earn around the minimum wage and many have been asked to keep working during the #coronavirus<\/a> crisis.
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\nWe’re relying on them for food, to care for the most vulnerable and to protect the #NHS<\/a>.
\n\u00e2\u0081\u00b0#MinimumWageHeroes<\/a>
\n\u00e2\u0081\u00b0https:\/\/t.co\/kXzSYtD4YK<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/mdaAxqnRXF<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u201d Panorama ? (@BBCPanorama) March 30, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n