General Election: Sherwood Labour candidate slams Conservatives for 'failing' hard-working residents
Jerry Hague, Labour candidate for Sherwood, slammed what he described as the decade of failure of the Conservative candidate.
It comes as figures from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings show how residents of Sherwood suffer more than any other area in Nottinghamshire.
The numbers reveal 3,177 people in Sherwood, 35.3% of all employees in the area are not earning the real living wage of £9.30 per hour.
Mr Hague said: "These figures are a badge of shame for the Tory candidate who has failed the hard working residents of Sherwood as their MP.
"The figures show the real pressure and hardship that people in Sherwood have been put through under Tory austerity.
"Labour will fix this scandal and show respect to all workers by immediately introducing a national minimum wage of £10 per hour, ending zero hours contracts and ensuring proper enforcement of legislation protecting employees.
"This comes on top of the Tory candidate stating that he does not oppose privatisation of parts of the NHS and is proud of his record of supporting Tory austerity.
"It is time for real change and for the residents of Sherwood that change can't come soon enough."
The real living wage is a voluntary rate set by the Living Wage Foundation, which hundreds of employers have signed up to.
It was increased from £9 to £9.30 at the start of November, differing from the Government's national living wage that currently stands at £8.21 an hour.
The figures, are broken down by Parliamentary constituency.
In Sherwood, 3,177 people were not earning real living wage (35.3% of 9,000 employees). This is the highest of the Nottinghamshire constituencies.
In Newark, that figure was 3,300 people not earning real living wage (30% of 11,000 employees)
In Rushcliffe the figure was 775 people (15.5% of 5,000 employees).
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