Low Pay Blights Workers on Frontline of U.K.’s Coronavirus Fight

(Bloomberg) -- Britons whose jobs are deemed vital for public health and safety during the coronavirus lockdown earn significantly less than other employees, according to analysis that will fuel pressure for better treatment of key workers.

Staff from National Health Service and care workers to delivery drivers and shop assistants are recognized as playing a critical role in the running of a widely paralyzed country. In recent weeks, Britain has joined other countries in public displays of gratitude by clapping for people on the frontline against the virus.

Those urging the government and companies to respond by improving pay and conditions are certain to seize on new estimates from the Institute for Fiscal Studies Thursday. The influential think tank calculates a third of key workers, and 71% in the food sector, earn less than 10 pounds ($12.30) per hour. Overall, they earn 12.26 pounds -- 8% less than employees in other occupations.

The gap has been widening, the IFS said, with key workers in areas such as education and law enforcement subject to almost a decade of public-sector wage restraint.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is standing in for Boris Johnson while the prime minister recovers from Covid-19, has said frontline workers should receive “an appropriate level of recognition” once the crisis is over, though the government has made no direct commitments on pay during the crisis.

Its reticence may be partly explained by the massive blow to the public finances caused by the pandemic, which has made it harder to cut taxes and increase spending on wages and benefits.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.