STUC today pledged its full and ongoing support to the End Child Poverty campaign.
Speaking ahead of End Child Poverty Demonstration in London on Saturday 4th October, STUC Deputy General Secretary Dave Moxham said:
“A number of significant advances have been made by the Government in recent years to reduce child poverty but there is concern that progress has stalled. We welcome the emphasis placed on tackling child poverty by the Prime Minster in his recent speech to Labour Party conference and we now need to see the action to meet the commitment.
“Recent threats to reduce benefits under Welfare to Work proposals are not helpful, neither is the ongoing scandal of low pay. Women in particular are affected by low pay and part-time work. 57% of children living i poverty are in working families, proving that minimum wage levels are inadequate.
“In conjunction with the Scottish Poverty Alliance and the Scottish Interfaith Council, STUC is conducting research into an appropriate Living Wage in Scotland. When that research is complete we will be campaigning for government and business to meet the challenge of ensuring that low pay ceases to be a cause of child poverty."
STUC’s 12th Annual Black Workers Conference in Perth will debate an emergency motion on child poverty. Black Workers Committee Chair Nazerin Wardrop, said:
“The STUC Black Workers’ Committee strongly supports the campaign to end child poverty. With black people more likely to face unemployment than white people, and significant numbers of migrants and black and minority ethnic people living in the poorest areas of Scotland, their children are at particular risk of poverty”.
ENDS
For further details contact
Dave Moxham STUC Deputy General Secretary 0141 337 8100
Mary Senior, STUC Assistant Secretary 0141 337 8100