Kellie O’Gara, Salisbury Socialist Party
Huge tax benefits for the rich and benefit cuts for the poorest, that was the essence of, new Tory chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s ‘mini budget’.
Kwarteng is aiming to hit part-time workers in the pocket, against the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis, rising energy bills and a recession. Liz Truss’ government is hankering to claw back scraps of Universal Credit given to those who work part-time.
The Tory solution given for those who rely on their part-time wages being topped up is to either find more hours or get better paid work. There are echoes of Norman Tebbit’s instruction to: “Get on your bike” to find work during Thatcher’s mass unemployment of the 1980s.
Until recently, those working over nine hours a week, could claim Universal Credit without being forced to work longer hours. That has now been raised to twelve hours, and will reach 15 in January. Workers will now be forced to attend a fortnightly job centre appointment to prove they are looking for more hours or better pay, or else face a benefit reduction.
The move will unquestionably affect working-class women disproportionately. Women make up the bulk of part-time workers, being more likely to have caring responsibilities for children or elderly relatives, and many would love to be able to afford to work and earn more!
But childcare services in the UK are already under major strain, with a lack of funding and spaces. Without a serious injection of funding, the system is simply not prepared to meet the demand if more working parents are forced to work longer hours. Without extending free childcare spaces for all ages, many working mothers and single parents are condemned to a life without waged work.
Thousands of families are already worse off with both parents working. The cost of childcare is 130% of a wage for a parent of a one-year-old earning minimum wage, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research. Fees have almost doubled for a family with a child under two since 2010. The situation is unsustainable, and the Tories want to make it worse for part-time and low-income workers. We must fight against these attempts to scapegoat benefit claimants, and get organised to win a minimum wage of £15 an hour as well as free, quality childcare.
