A STAGGERING number of Scottish public service workers rely on Universal Credit. Analysis by GMB has shown that over 13,000 public service workers in the country are currently in receipt of social security.
Since the pandemic, the number of public service workers relying on social credit has increased by 157 per cent.
GMB analysis of ONS Labour Force Survey data shows in the fourth quarter of 2019, 5,295 Scottish public sector workers were in receipt of Universal Credit. By the fourth quarter of 2022, that number had shot up to 13,639.
The average percentage increase across the UK since the fourth quarter of 2019 was 154 per cent. With the highest rise was in Northern Ireland where there was 650 per cent rise in the number of public service workers receiving Universal Credit.
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Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary, said: “It’s a stain on the honour of our nation so many public sector staff have to rely on working benefits to get by. NHS staff, care workers, school staff and council workers who keep Scotland’s towns and cities alive.
“Surely these people should be paid enough to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads without relying on Univeral Credit. Instead, the numbers are rocketing. It’s a disgrace.”
“If the past 12 months of industrial action have taught us anything, it’s that people in Scotland are refusing to take in-work poverty lying down. Yet this Government doesn’t seem to have learned its lesson.”
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A Convention of Scottish Local Authority’s (COSLA) Spokesperson said: “As Fair Work employers – Scotland’s councils continue to support their employees as best as they possibly can. To this end, Scotland’s Council Leaders have committed to the Scottish Local Government Living Wage Rate – which is above the real living wage rate – and shows their commitment to being Fair Work employers.”
The full findings of the report will be revealed by GMB at their annual conference this week to be hosted in Brighton.
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