Benefits for striking low-paid workers to be axed

Low-paid workers who take strike action will no longer have their wages topped up by the state, ministers say. Workers on up to £13,000 a year can currently claim working tax credits to top up their income even when they take part in industrial action. But from next year there will be no increase in benefits if a worker's income drops due to strike action. The TUC said it was a "mean-spirited" move aimed at deterring workers from standing up for their rights. The change is part of the new Universal Credit, which is replacing the benefit system with a single payment. Mr Duncan Smith says the fact that the current benefit system compensates workers and tops up their income when they go on strike is "unfair and creates perverse incentives".

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