THE cost-of-living crisis has become a “living nightmare” for workers, unions warned today as the latest inflation data hit double figures and threatened further industrial unrest.

RPI inflation hit 12.3 per cent – the highest since March 1981 – last month, while the CPI rate stood at 10.1 per cent, driven by the rising cost of food.

Unions called for pay rises and the cancellation of approaching energy bill increases to protect families and ease inflation.

The Bank of England has warned of a possible recession.

Unison assistant general secretary Jon Richards said: “The cost-of-living crisis has become a living nightmare for millions of working people.

“Wages are slumping at a record rate while prices and bills shoot up.

“But the government and those angling to be the next PM appear indifferent to the plight of those struggling to make ends meet.”

He said ministers are “deluded if they think workers can put up with yet more misery,” calling for above-inflation pay rises to protect families.

GMB general secretary Gary Smith said that many hard-working people are “at the limit of what they can pay to put food on the table and power their homes.”

He said: “Meanwhile, the Bank of England and our zombie government have lost control and look on helplessly as decent people are plunged into poverty.

“For so many, the cost-of-living crisis is rapidly becoming a catastrophe.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said inflation has reached “new perilous levels” for workers and their families.

“Yesterday, real wages fell to the lowest on record, so if today’s figures prove anything it’s that wages are not driving inflation,” she said.

“Since the pandemic, the FTSE top 350 have seen profits soar by 43 per cent.

“Britain has a profiteering crisis – when is something going to be done about that?”

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady urged ministers to cancel the “catastrophic” rise in energy bills this autumn.

“And to reduce future inflationary pressures and make energy more affordable, they should bring energy retail into public ownership,” she said.

Ms O’Grady also called on the government to increase universal credit and the national minimum wage immediately, and for companies to “show profit restraint” by keeping prices down and prioritising staff pay rises.

Royal College of Nursing general secretary Pat Cullen warned that inflation, combined with decade-long stagnant wage growth, will force many nursing staff to question if they can afford to stay in the profession.

Labour MP Richard Burgon said that with rising costs, “we can't stand by and allow millions more to fall into food poverty.”

He said: “It’s time for price caps on essential foods and a special tax on record supermarket profits to help tackle food poverty.”

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the government must “get a grip on rising inflation leaving families worried sick about making ends meet,” instead of “fighting and ignoring the scale of this crisis.”

Rail union TSSA urged for railways to be brought back into public ownership and for a complete overhaul of ticketing to make rail travel cheaper for passengers.

The July RPI has historically been used to cap the following year’s price increases on some train tickets in Britain.

The government has said it will keep 2023 rises below RPI with inflation soaring but did not reveal how it plans to calculate the new rates.

TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said: “Rather than maximising profits for private rail firms, we need services and passengers to be put first.”

Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi denied that the government is waiting to provide families with additional support with energy bills and said it will roll out £37 billion in help.