Three-quarters of care workers in West Midlands earning below 'real living wage'
Three quarters of social care workers in the West Midlands are earning below the "real living wage", according to new research.
The Living Wage Foundation says 68,412 frontline workers in the region's social care sector earn below the current threshold - 75 per cent of all staff.
The Government announced last week that the real living wage in the UK had risen by 20p to £9.50 per hour, and by 10p to £10.85 an hour in London.
Among the worst affected areas in the West Midlands for low pay in the care sector were Telford & Wrekin, where almost 90 per cent of staff fall under the threshold.
In Walsall and Wolverhampton the number of workers earning below the real living wage was 86 per cent and 83.5 per cent respectively.
It comes amid growing calls for reform of the social care sector to create parity with the NHS, where all nurses earn above the threshold.
Laura Gardiner, director of the Living Wage Foundation, said: "They’ve put their lives on the line caring for others during this pandemic, so it’s essential we ensure they earn enough to look after their own families.
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"The real living wage is the only UK wage rate based on what it costs to live. It ensures workers and their families can meet everyday needs – things like a surprise dentist trip and a new school uniform for growing kids."
Labour has renewed its calls for the Government to fix the crisis in social care, and publish a plan to ensure that all staff are paid the real living wage.
Deputy Leader Angela Rayner, said:"Ministers fell over themselves to pose for the cameras and clap our carers earlier this year, but applause doesn’t pay the bills and warm words don’t put food on the table.
"It is a moral outrage that 75 per cent of social care workers in the West Midlands do not even earn the real living wage.
"This situation was wrong before this pandemic, but now it is absolutely unconscionable. After all that they have done for all of us, a pay rise is the very least that our care worker heroes deserve."
Boris Johnson has vowed to reform social care, saying: "We can do it, and we will do it."
A recent report by the Health and Social Care Committee, which former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, sits on, says the system requires an extra £4 billion a year to fix.
The Express & Star has contacted the Department for Health for a response.
