The number of public sector workers relying on charity handouts to make ends meet has soared since 2010 as stagnating wages fail to match the rise in living costs.
New figures show police officers, nurses and teachers are receiving charitable grants at a higher rate than ever because they are struggling to pay rent and provide for their children. It comes after years of wage freezes and pay rises below inflation for public sector workers: nurses’ pay has dropped by 14 per cent in real terms, while teachers’ wages in England were worth 12 per cent less in 2015 than they were in 2005.
Turn2us, which helps people in financial hardship to access charitable grants and support services, said that of the 3,278 grants it gave out last year, more than half (50.8 per cent) went to people working in education, health and government or local government, compared to just 24.6 per cent in 2010. A quarter of grants went to people working in health and social care, with 900 people in the sector receiving grants from the charity last year, compared with 413 in 2010. More than half of these (56 per cent) went to nurses. The number of people working in education receiving charity funds increased from 364 to 802, with the vast majority of these (76 per cent) being given to fully qualified teachers.
The figures come after an analysis revealed the number of children of public sector workers who are living in poverty surged by 40 per cent in the same period, with one in seven children whose parents work in jobs such as teaching and nursing now living below the breadline. The research by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) showed that since 2010, an extra 150,000 children have been pushed into poverty, with families where both parents work in the public sector hit hardest by the Government’s pay restrictions and benefit changes.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/public-sector-workers-relying-charity-grants-make-ends-meet-nurses-police-teachers-turn2us-a8225061.html
New figures show police officers, nurses and teachers are receiving charitable grants at a higher rate than ever because they are struggling to pay rent and provide for their children. It comes after years of wage freezes and pay rises below inflation for public sector workers: nurses’ pay has dropped by 14 per cent in real terms, while teachers’ wages in England were worth 12 per cent less in 2015 than they were in 2005.
Turn2us, which helps people in financial hardship to access charitable grants and support services, said that of the 3,278 grants it gave out last year, more than half (50.8 per cent) went to people working in education, health and government or local government, compared to just 24.6 per cent in 2010. A quarter of grants went to people working in health and social care, with 900 people in the sector receiving grants from the charity last year, compared with 413 in 2010. More than half of these (56 per cent) went to nurses. The number of people working in education receiving charity funds increased from 364 to 802, with the vast majority of these (76 per cent) being given to fully qualified teachers.
The figures come after an analysis revealed the number of children of public sector workers who are living in poverty surged by 40 per cent in the same period, with one in seven children whose parents work in jobs such as teaching and nursing now living below the breadline. The research by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) showed that since 2010, an extra 150,000 children have been pushed into poverty, with families where both parents work in the public sector hit hardest by the Government’s pay restrictions and benefit changes.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/public-sector-workers-relying-charity-grants-make-ends-meet-nurses-police-teachers-turn2us-a8225061.html
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