UK
funeral staff are demanding a 25 per cent wage increase.
Trade
union members from GMB, TGWU and Usdaw – which represent 2,600 funeral workers
– met this week and voted to demand the increase when they meet employer the
Co-op, which performs 20 per cent of UK funerals.
The
claim would increase a funeral operative’s pay to almost £16,000 a year.
Phil
Davies, national secretary at the GMB, believes that funeral workers are
grossly underpaid and under valued.
"Our
members have to deal with the bereaved families as well as having to remove the
deceased at any time of the day or night, 365 days of the year," he said.
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"They
are paid less than £6 per hour for removing the deceased from all sorts of
incidents, such as rail accidents and so on. Our members are so fed up with low
pay that they are prepared to fight for this increase and also for fair and
proper treatment."
