MORE than a quarter of children whose parents are social care workers are growing up in poverty, a new TUC study published yesterday reveals.

The shocking analysis, conducted by Landman Economics, indicates that 220,000 kids with at least one parent employed in the care sector — 28.4 per cent of the total — are in families struggling to make ends meet.

That total is set to rise to nearly 300,000 by 2024 if ministers continue to call for workers to show “wage restraint” in the face of soaring inflation and record-high energy bills, the union body stressed. 

The study warns that child poverty is rampant across key worker households, with almost a fifth — 19 per cent — living below the bread line.

One in four young people whose parents are public transport employees are living in poverty, according to the research, while about a 10th of those being brought up by nurses, teaching staff or local government workers are in the same boat

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Many of our amazing key workers risked have been trapped in poverty and abandoned by this government.

“The Conservatives’ decision to hold down wages as living costs soar is causing rampant hardship — we can’t go on like this.

“We can’t be a country where bankers are allowed bigger bonuses while nurses and care staff are forced to use foodbanks.

“There must be a general election now.”

Ms O’Grady is set to join Unite general secretary Sharon Graham and RMT chief Mick Lynch in addressing a mass rally of trade unionists in Westminster tonight as the labour movement demands action amid the cost-of-living emergency.

A £15-an-hour minimum wage is needed alongside inflation-proof increases for benefits and pensions and an extended windfall tax on profiteering energy giants, the TUC said.