London families ‘struggle to make ends meet’

LONDON: A high proportion of working families in London are struggling to make ends meet, a union claims.

Research by the GMB suggested that more than 800,000 residents in the capital are paid less than the voluntary living wage of £10.55 an hour for London. The total represents 25 per cent of all London residents in work, while almost two out of five were in part time jobs.

Warren Kenny, GMB regional secretary, said: “Policy makers and politicians need to refocus their stirring talk away from the soaring rhetoric of a global London back to the reality that there is a very high proportion of working families struggling to make ends meet every day.

“Policies need to take this into account. These families are dependent on housing benefits. They are adversely affected by the cuts to working families tax credits as it transitions to the universal credit system. The cuts should be reversed. The majority of new homes must be for rent as affordable social housing.”The voluntary rate is less than the statutory national living wage of £8.21 an hour for adults.