UK government staff strike as they rely on food banks to survive

Government staff in the British capital London are the latest group to be forced into poverty in the country as they go on a strike saying missed payments and low pay have left them with nothing to eat.

The Guardian newspaper said in a Tuesday report that support staff working for several UK government departments had staged a walkout in London’s Westminster earlier in the day after a multi-billion company hiring them missed several paydays.

The staff workers said the missed payments had left them in severe poverty as they were forced to rely on food banks to earn something to eat.

“I’ve got bills to pay ... I can’t afford to go six weeks without money. I’ve got to pay six weeks’ mortgage out of two weeks’ money,” said a man attending the action which saw workers from the business department and foreign ministry also attending.

Public and Commercial Services Union, a branch related to the business department, has set up a food bank to help the destitute staff, said the Guardian.

PressTV-Austerity measures caused hunger crisis in UK: HRW

Thousands of British families don’t have enough food to eat due to years of austerity measures by the government.

The report said some workers had been left in tears after checking their bank balances on pay day and finding out they had not been paid.

The UK government has mostly avoided commenting on the rise of poverty across the country, especially at a time when many blame its austerity measures and a signature social care program for the problem in an economy which is the fifth largest in the world.

Official estimates by the United Nations show that some 14 million people, around a fifth of UK population, are living in poverty.

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