Four in 10 food workers forced to skip meals in 'national embarrassment'
Four in 10 food workers are forced to skip meals as they can't afford the products they produce, bleak new research shows today.
The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers' Union has branded it a “national embarrassment and scandal” that nearly one in five are relying on foodbanks.
A report published today shows 45% have had to skip meals, while 57% are eating less than they used to.
The union found 17% use foodbanks - up from 7% two years ago - and unearthed heartbreaking stories about the impact of the cost of living crisis.
One worker wrote: "I didn't have running hot water, so I can't wash my hands thoroughly.
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"Either trying to keep warm in bed or running on the spot. Staying at work longer to keep warm."
People who work in the food industry are unable to afford the products they produce and distribute, alarming figures show (Getty Images)Another told researchers: "I feel no matter how hard I work and the hours I put in at work I can't win."
Nearly a third of those surveyed told the BFAWU their wages weren't enough to cover basic essentials.
The union challenged an incoming Labour Government to do better.
General Secretary Sarah Woolley said: "Too many food workers are going cold and hungry and need a pay rise.
"The suffering of our members, the key workers who kept people fed during the pandemic and who continue to ensure people are fed all of the time, is a national disgrace.
"The fact that food workers cannot afford the food they grow, produce, distribute and supply should be seen as a national embarrassment and scandal."
The union is campaigning for a minimum wage of at least £15 an hour.
And Ian Hodson, the union's president, said: "The evidence we have gathered could not be clearer; food workers need a pay rise.
"It cannot be right that the people who produce our food are on the breadline.
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"It should be a source of national shame that the people who produce our food are unable to feed themselves and purchase the very food they produce. It is beyond shocking and is evidence of an economy that is not working for far too many people - in and out of work."
A scathing report published today says: "The current cost of living crisis needs a radical set of solutions and we expect an incoming Labour Government, and the devolved administrations, to step up and ensure that no person, child or adult, goes cold or hungry in Britain in 2023.
"These are basic requirements that any civilised, self-respecting country should aspire to. Nothing less will do."
Union general secretary Sarah Woolley said it is a 'national disgrace' that workers are going hungrySarah Woolley: Too many British workers are going cold and hungry
Far too many British food workers are going cold and hungry and are in need of a pay rise. This appalling situation reflects an economy that is failing working families.
The results of our new research which asked our members how the cost-of-living crisis is affecting them, could not be clearer.
Food workers (people who are in employment), are cold in their own homes and often don't know where their next meal is coming from.
Skipping meals, eating less, buying cheaper and unhealthier foods is shockingly, the new normal.
As far as heating their own homes is concerned that is often a non-starter - it is blankets and jumpers not astronomically expensive central heating that is keeping them and their children warm.
Food workers, the very people who kept us fed during the pandemic, who went to work every day putting their own lives at risk as others were locked down are paid so little that many of them rely on family and friends for food and nearly one in five have had to visit a food bank.
This is a national disgrace and should be seen as a source of shame and embarrassment.
How can it be that people who play such a fundamentally important role in the well-being and functioning of our society are going hungry and cold in their own homes? Or have to choose between heating and eating.
As one of our members put it “We have to wear lots of clothes to feel warm, or sit in a half dark room to save money on electricity and gas or we won't be able to buy fresh, healthy food.”
Our members, like workers across the country, need a pay rise. A minimum wage of £15 an hour is now an urgent priority.
The current cost of living crisis needs a radical set of solutions. We expect an incoming Labour Government, and the current devolved administrations, to step up to the mark and ensure that no child or adult, goes cold or hungry in Britain in 2023. These are basic requirements that any civilised, self-respecting country should aspire to.
Nothing less will do.
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