Low-income workers need better job satisfaction – No 10 review
2 min read
Too many people on the national living wage are stuck in jobs with no prospects of change or a pay rise, according to a Government review.
A 10-month review has identified a productivity crisis among the lowest paid workers particularly in sectors such as retail, care work and hospitality, and will urge the government to give the Low Pay Commission a new role to boost job satisfaction.
According to the report, the Government needs to tackle industrial policy and falling productivity if they are to have a hope of improving the quality of life for those earning the least money.
The Low Pay Commission sets the national living wage. It is predicted that 15% of the UK workforce will be earning up to or at that level by 2020, up from 2% in 2000.
In three years a quarter of workers in wholesale, retail, agriculture and fishing will be earning at the wage floor, according to the Resolution Foundation.
Theresa May ordered the review after the misery created by low pay and a lack of employment rights was exposed by a series of scandals, from Sports Direct’s flouting of the law to the demands of the gig economy.
The Taylor review is expected to suggest the government develop a set of measures to be used to assess the quality of low-paid work across different sectors, taking into account issues such as access to training and job satisfaction.
In her first speech as Prime Minister, May addressed people who “have a job, but … don’t always have job security” and those who are “just managing”, and said: “The Government I lead will be driven not by the interests of the privileged few, but by yours.”
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