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According to recent analysis conducted by the Labour party and shared with The Independent, the discrepancy in job opportunities is resulting in a loss of £34 billion for the UK economy annually.
The Labour party, led by Sir Keir Starmer, accused the Conservative party of failing to address workplace inequality. They argued that after 14 years of Conservative leadership, Britain has become less productive and less equal.
The opposition has pledged to address the significant disparities in employment that disproportionately affect women, disabled individuals, and Black, Asian, and ethnic minority citizens, resulting in high barriers and costs.
The UK’s current level of inequality is deemed unacceptable by Labour’s shadow equalities secretary Anneliese Dodds, who will state today that it is a “scandal that we cannot tolerate”.
As election year approaches, it is rumored that Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt is considering expanding child benefits to include more families in the middle class as part of a pre-election budget giveaway.
The Labour party states that the difference in employment rates based on ethnicity is causing a loss of £20bn to the economy each year. This claim is supported by data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The data indicates that the current employment rate for individuals in the “all other ethnic groups combined” category is 68.4%, which is nine percentage points lower than that of white individuals (77.1%).
Labour states that closing the gap would result in 650,000 more workers in the economy, leading to a significant increase in tax revenues and economic growth.
Anneliese Dodds of the Labour party warns that inequality is a pressing issue that we cannot ignore due to its detrimental consequences.
Assisting the 333,000 females who have quit their jobs due to menopause to remain employed could result in a £11bn boost to the economy, according to the study.
Improving employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities by a mere 2 percent, bringing it in line with the OECD average, could potentially boost the UK economy by an extra £3bn.
At the Fabian Society conference on Saturday, Ms Dodds will criticize the Conservative government’s track record of “disappointing shortcomings” regarding workplace inequality.
She will contend that there is a trend of women, black, Asian, and ethnic minority individuals, as well as disabled individuals, experiencing employment gaps where they are putting in more effort but receiving less in return.
The chair of the party promises that equality will be embedded in Labour’s plans, much like the words inside a stick of rock, as she presents a strategy to eliminate employment disparities.
The party has pledged to prohibit zero-hours contracts, which will provide advantages to black, Asian, and minority workers who are disproportionately affected. They have also committed to implementing mandatory reporting on the pay gap based on ethnicity for companies with over 250 employees.
Employers with a significant number of employees will need to create “menopause action plans” that outline the ways in which they are assisting women going through menopause in the workplace. These plans will also offer guidance for smaller employers.
Sir Keir’s party has also pledged to provide additional support for disabled individuals at job centers, and implement reporting on disability pay gaps for larger employers.
It has been reported that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is considering expanding child benefit.
According to a recent report, Mr. Hunt may be considering a proposal to expand child benefit by £2,000 per year to a larger portion of middle-income households.
The Times reports that the chancellor is considering increasing the threshold for child benefit withdrawal from £50,000 to £60,000. This change would result in a cost of approximately £1bn, while eliminating income limits altogether would cost £4bn.
According to the Daily Telegraph, Mr Hunt is allegedly planning to reduce departmental spending in order to finance his proposed tax cuts. This may involve cutting the current 0.9% increase in day-to-day spending until 2028-29.
In the upcoming March Budget, Rishi Sunak and Mr Hunt are anticipated to reveal plans for additional tax reductions in an effort to improve their party’s poor polling numbers. Members of the Conservative party have stated their preference for lowering income tax instead of eliminating or greatly reducing inheritance tax.
Source: independent.co.uk
