SIX in 10 food workers aren’t paid enough to afford grocery and energy bills and are fearful of running out of money this Christmas, an annual survey by the bakers’ union has shown.

A report today by the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) revealed a growing number of its members are skipping meals and relying on friends and family, as well as foodbanks, to eat.

Nearly half said they are feeling food insecure, and three out of 10 reported they don’t have enough food to feed themselves and their families. 

Only 13.5 per cent said they are not eating less, with 83 per cent saying they choose to eat cheaper, often less nutritious, alternatives.

Nearly nine out of 10 said they have reduced their heating to save money, with almost 40 per cent saying they were either cold all the time or most of the time in their own homes.

BFAWU general secretary Sarah Woolley urged national governments and councils to do more to end the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

She said her union’s third food insecurity and cost-of-living report “is the most disappointing one yet and makes for grim reading. 

“The people that are reporting these pressures, our members, let us remember, are in employment. 

“It makes me angry that so many are dreading the winter and won’t be able to eat what they want at Christmas.  

“This is quite simply a disgrace and an indictment on our economy and our political system that has enabled and embedded this type of imbalanced and unfair economy, which has normalised in-work poverty, food insecurity and fuel poverty.”