150,000 Londoners now work two jobs just to make ends meet

 
“Hidden heroes”: Labour’s Tessa Jowell said at least 10,000 of those with two jobs worked in social care
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The number of Londoners holding down two jobs has soared by more than 50 per cent over the past 10 years, new figures show.

Almost 150,000 workers in the capital have been forced to take a second job to make ends meet — up from 94,000 a decade ago.

Labour mayoral candidate Tessa Jowell, who released the figures, is calling for City Hall to be given powers to set a higher minimum wage for London as a step towards a living wage for all.

She pledged to use the Mayor’s buying power to make sure that every company contracted by the GLA pays its staff the Living Wage, which at £9.15 is £2.65 higher an hour than the minimum wage.

The former MP and Cabinet minister would also encourage London boroughs to follow Brent council’s lead in providing business rate discounts of up to £5,000 a year for companies that pay the Living Wage.

The capital’s workforce has risen from 3.6 million to 4.3 million over the decade, according to the ONS, but even taking that growth into account the proportion of Londoners with two jobs has risen by 29 per cent.

The analysis by the office of Ms Jowell, based on House of Commons research, also revealed that at least 10,000 of those with two jobs are care workers, a sector notorious for its poor pay and conditions.

She said: “Low pay is forcing tens of thousands of Londoners to work two jobs to provide for their families.

“Two-job Londoners — at least 10,000 of them social care workers — are the hidden heroes of our city working all they can to keep our city going and keep food on the table.

“This is the clearest evidence of the crying need for a London minimum wage that recognises the much higher cost of living in London.

“I want every Londoner to be paid a living wage. This is why, as mayor, I will demand the right to set a higher minimum wage for London and I will also use the buying power of the GLA group to ensure that every company we contract with pays their staff a living wage.”

Most of those Londoners seeking extra work are in traditionally low paid roles in the care sector, retail and hospitality.

However, firefighters and police officers are among the better paid workers known to take on second roles.

A recent report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary found that as many as one in 10 police officers had secured extra work, including as a vicar, a pole-dancing instructor, and a self-defence trainer.

A third of London firefighters in 2010 held down two jobs, which was possible because of their shift patterns, with some working in accounting, undertaking and modelling.

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