Over 450,000 key workers in the North West are being paid less than £10 an hour, a new study by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) today claims.
The body has called for a pay rise for all key workers, with the figure representing four in ten of the region's total.
It comes as trade unionists around the country mark May Day – also known as International Workers’ Day – with an online #ThankAWorker action, expressing gratitude to key workers who have made a difference to them during lockdown.
TUC's regional secretary, Jay McKenna, said: “Everyone who’s kept Britain going through this pandemic deserves a pay rise.
“Frontline workers are putting their own health on the line to look after the rest of us.
"They’re caring for the sick and vulnerable, getting us to work, keeping our shelves stocked and our vital services running.
“Now it’s time for ministers to give key workers a proper thank you. And that means getting money into their pockets now.
“The government must give all key workers the pay, conditions and respect they deserve.
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"That’s how to really thank the people who got us through this crisis.”
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According to the TUC analysis, nearly 4 in 10 key workers – an estimated 3.7 million people nationally are paid less than £10 an hour, compared to 3 in 10 non-key workers.
It also reveals that women are much more likely than men to be key workers and, when they are, are much more likely to be on low pay.
Of an estimated 9.8m key workers, nearly two-thirds are women, and 2.5m women key workers earn less than £10 an hour.
In social care, 7 in 10 workers earn less than £10 an hour.
The TUC said many key workers are also trapped in insecure work, without guaranteed hours and often missing out on basic rights like sick pay.
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One in four workers in adult social care – one of the sectors hit hardest by the virus – are on zero-hours contracts, which mean their hours of work and pay packets can vary significantly.
The TUC is calling on government to "thank" key workers by increasing the minimum wage to £10 an hour for everyone, delivering fair pay rises for key workers, banning zero-hours contracts, increasing sick pay to the real living wage, and bringing outsourced workers like cleaners in the NHS back into the public sector.