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Theresa May is “conning” millions of low-paid workers with her promised wage hike, Britain’s top union chief declares today.

The Prime Minister will boast in a speech today that she is committed to “making work pay” by boosting the national living wage to £8.21 an hour.

But in a stunning attack, TUC boss Frances O’Grady warns that by claiming this is a “living wage”, Mrs May is in fact “conning the public”.

Writing for The Mirror, Ms O’Grady says: “Many people earning that wage will still struggle to keep their heads above water.

“Just paying for the basics – food, housing, childcare, transport – will be a battle.”

The Tories announced the pay rise last week in the Budget.

(Image: PA)

They will hike the National Living Wage once again – up from £7.83 – but the increase won’t affect everyone.

The 5% hike will come into force from April, and will be given to around 2.4million workers.

But Ms O’Grady says it is still below what many need to live on – what she calls a “real living wage”.

And it doesn’t apply to those under 25 either.

She writes: “By claiming that’s a living wage, they’re either conning the public or conning themselves.”

In a swipe at the PM, Ms O’Grady blasts: “Instead of helping out the lowest paid, Theresa May and her government have chosen to give tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy.”

The Resolution Foundation revealed that Britain’s richest households will gain 14 times more cash from last week’s Tory Budget than the poorest families.

The “real” Living Wage paid voluntarily by some employers will climb to £9 an hour – giving more than 180,000 workers a pay boost, it was announced on Sunday.

Comment

By Frances O'Grady, TUC General Secretary

The Prime Minister will give a speech on Monday claiming that her government is committed to “making work pay”.

But try telling that to the millions of hard-working people struggling to make ends meet in Britain today.

In-work poverty has rocketed since the Tories took office in 2010.

The number of kids growing up below the breadline - despite have at least one parent in work - has shot up by a third to three million.

And what has the government done about it?

Well, they rebranded the minimum wage as the National Living Wage. And in last week’s budget, the rate went up to £8.21 an hour.

But by claiming that’s a living wage, they’re either conning the public or conning themselves.

Because across Britain, many people earning that wage will still struggle to keep their heads above water. Just paying for the basics - like food - will be a battle.

That’s why we at the TUC are calling on all employers to pay the Real Living Wage.

It’s a higher rate (£9 an hour for the UK and £10.55 in London in 2019), calculated to give workers a wage packet they can build a decent life on.

But instead of helping out the lowest-paid, Theresa May and her government have chosen to give tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations.

Britain’s richest households will gain 14 times more cash from last week’s budget than Britain’s poorest families.

After nearly a decade of austerity, working people have had enough.