Wages and welfare
Cuts in welfare support and wages being kept low in both private and public sector combined with rising costs has led to soaring levels of child poverty.
Child poverty is often talked about as though it were a separate thing to wider poverty. The reality is that child poverty is – of course – about family poverty. Attacks on the benefits of disabled people hurts children. Weakening of trade unions powers or the right to organise and to strike hurts children. Inequality hurts children.
Rather than justifying surveillance and punitive measures to keep children safe the government must respect human rights and put in place measures which enable people to earn a decent living. Measures could include setting good levels of public sector pay, a living minimum wage as well as setting welfare at levels people can live on.
“In contrast with early childhood intervention the simple practice of giving money to poor families works regardless of what measure is applied.”
Professor Val Gillies, Ros Edwards and Dr Nicola Horsley
Challenging the Politics of Early Intervention: Who’s ‘saving’ Children and Why (2017)
“We need a more robust and less punitive benefit system that aims to raise the income floor. We need a more redistributive tax system. We need a boost to overall worker wages that rebalances how corporations divide output between pay and profits. We need to prioritize precious national resources for social reconstruction.”
Zero hours, insecure and low paid work
rights report on uk
“The Committee is concerned at the high incidence of part-time work, precarious self-employment, temporary employment and the use of “zero hour contracts” in the State party, which particularly affect women.”
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Sixth periodic review of the UK (2016)
%
of children living in poverty have at least one parent in work
“It used to be the case that work did pay, it was the route out of poverty, but in the modern labour market that is no longer the case.”
Gingerbread
ICSECR Committee recommendations: what the UK government should do to support the rights to fair and equitable work and the right to a decent standard of living.
Take all appropriate measures to reduce the use of zero hour, temporary employment and precarious self-employment. This includes by creating decent work opportunities.
The national minimum wage should be set at a level sufficient to provide all workers and their families with a decent standard of living. Under 25s should be protected too.
All workers need to be able to enjoy their trade union rights without undue restrictions or interference. All necessary measures should be taken to make sure the Employment Relations Act 1999 is being properly implemented. The Committee flagged concern around the Trade Union Act 2016 requirements which limit the right of workers to undertake industrial action. Any workers who have been blacklisted should be guaranteed access to effective legal remedies and compensation.
Strengthen measures to allow working parents and caregivers to balance
their professional and family responsibilities, including sufficient
resources for childcare, encouraging parents to take parental leave and making sure there are affordable childcare options for socioeconomically disadvantaged families, families in rural and remote areas and families with irregular work schedules
Deep cuts to family support
Families are one of the groups hit hardest by the Coalition and Conservative government’s cuts to welfare which have had a devastating impact on children. Across the board the human rights committees reporting on the UK have flagged the government’s cuts in support as a serious issue interfering with the rights of children and their families.
Labour have refused to scrap the controversial two child benefit cap which is evidenced as causing poverty for hundreds of thousands of children.
“…children who were in families affected by the two child limit were missing out on basic essentials such as food or clothes, and that many families have been pushed into financial hardship and debt due to this policy.”
“Immediate repeal of the two-child limit is essential to alleviate child poverty. This policy has disproportionately harmed the most vulnerable families, and its removal would lead to improved long-term health outcomes and reduced demand for social services.”
rights report on uk
“The Committee is particularly concerned about the adverse impact of these changes and cuts on the enjoyment of the rights to social security and to an adequate standard of living by disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups, including women, children, persons with disabilities, low-income families and families with two or more children.”
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Concluding observations on the sixth periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (2016)
The Labour government have also announced controversial changes to the work assessment process for people with disabilities.
“Instead of pushing on with measures that will directly harm hundreds of thousands of disabled people, benefits should be properly reviewed through the government’s plans to consult on them – and the views of disabled people should be listened to.”
Richard Kramer, chief executive of Sense
Big Issue: ‘Disturbing’ disability benefit reforms in Labour’s budget could see hundreds of thousands denied help (2024)
Work for mothers of young
In 2023 work requirements of welfare doubled for parents of three-year-olds – from 16 to 30 hours per week. It is estimated that 800,000 families will be impacted. Also, from child’s first birthday there are requirements to ‘prepare for work’.
“It’s a complete disregard of children’s needs and will have drastic effects on lone parents.”