Unions call for general election now as number of children of key workers growing up in poverty revealed

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More than one in four children whose parents are carers are growing up in poverty, new TUC analysis shows, as unions stage mass rally calling for immediate general election.< /p>

TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady has warned the numbers are rising, with the 220,000 children of poor social workers expected to rise to 300,000 by the end of this parliament if the dissolution is postponed until the latest possible date in 2024.

The TUC said poverty was "endemic" in families headed by parents whose jobs make them key workers.

Almost a tenth (9.4%) of children with nurses as parents - more than 70,000 young people - live below the subsistence level, as do 100,000 children of teaching staff (10.8% ), 220,000 of those whose parents work in local government (11.8%) and 50,000 sons and daughters of public transport staff (25%).

According to the TUC figure, one in five (19%) key wo rker households have children living in poverty.

< p>And Ms O'Grady said another year of real pay cuts for millions of public sector workers would make matters worse, with nurses losing an average of £1,100 after adjusting for inflation< /p>

The results were released as workers across Britain prepared to gather for a rally and lobby of MPs in central London on November 2.

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The rally follows a petition launched by The Independent to demand a general election immediate after the dismissal of two conservatives the prime ministers in less than two months are approaching 500,000 signatures.

Speakers s, including Ms O'Grady, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch and striking frontline workers this fall and winter will demand action on the cost of living and a general election urgent.

MsO'Grady said: "Our amazing core rs work have risked their lives to get us through the pandemic. The least they deserve is to be able to provide for their families.

“But many have been trapped in poverty and abandoned by this government. The Conservatives' decision to keep wages down as the cost of living skyrockets is causing endemic hardship. We can't go on like this.

"We can't be a country where...