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TUC warns of 19th century working conditions

BRITAIN risks slipping back into 19th-century working conditions as millions of people struggle with insecure employment and earn less than the minimum wage, the TUC warned yesterday.

A new report by the union federation said there are 3.7 million people in insecure work, nearly two million self-employed people are earning under the minimum wage and workers have suffered the longest pay squeeze for 200 years.

Unless the balance of power in the workplace is reset, economic inequality and insecure work will continue to increase, it warned.

The share of economic output going to wages has dropped from 57 per cent between 1945 and 1975 to just 49 per cent in 2018, said the report.

The TUC said its analysis showed that unsecured debt has also hit record levels, with one in five families stuck with problem debt.

It is calling for a £10 national minimum wage, a ban on zero-hours contracts and a crackdown on insecure work.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “We’re at risk of going back to 19th-century working conditions.

“Millions of workers have no control and no voice at work, with increasing numbers stuck on low pay, zero-hours contracts and in sham self-employment.

“We urgently need to reset the balance of power in our economy and give people more of a say about what happens to them at work.

“We know that collective bargaining is the best way to raise wages and improve conditions, so let’s expand it across the whole workforce.”

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