AROUND 45,000 children of public sector workers in the West Midlands have been pushed into poverty, new research shows.
According the Trades Union Congress, the region has seen a 54 per cent rise in the number of children in public sector families suffering impoverishment since 2010.
This is the sharpest increase in England.
The research shows nearly 16,000 more children have fallen into poverty in the West Midlands since 2010.
Figures also show that by April 2018, one in seven children in the UK (550,000) in public sector working families will be living below the official bread line.
The TUC claim this is a result of the public sector pay cap, tax and benefit changes.
The new analysis shows families where both parents work in the public sector are the biggest losers from the Government’s pay restrictions and social security changes.
The government and the civil service defend the public sector pay freeze claiming that wages are shrinking in the private sector as well with the labour market suffering badly.
Others defend the cap by saying that public sector salaries are usually higher than private sector salaries.
But the analysis shows the average household income will be down £83 each week in real terms by April this year.
But households where one parent works in the public sector and another works in the private sector will also lose on average £53 a week.
TUC regional secretary for the Midlands, Lee Barron said: “The government’s pay restrictions and in-work benefit cuts have caused needless hardship all over the UK.
“Public servants shouldn’t have to worry about feeding or clothing their kids, yet many are struggling to afford even the basics.
“Ministers must give nurses, teachers and other public sector workers the pay rise they have earned or more families will continue falling into poverty.”
