Strong calls have been made for holiday park workers in the Great Yarmouth area to be given a pay rise.

The Great Yarmouth Trades Union Council (GYTUC) has launched its end low pay campaign alongside Unite.

At the launch event a banner was displayed on the approach to Yarmouth saying 'welcome to a low wage town.'

Postcards explaining the campaign were given out to visitors by activists.

The trades council wrote to the big holiday parks in 2016 about pay and working conditions but received no response. This lack of response triggered the development of a campaign to bring what the GYTUC says would be better pay and conditions to the industry.

John Cannell, president of the trades council, said: 'Low wage is not good for the local economy. People are being forced by the Job Centre to take zero hour contacts and low wage jobs.

'Poverty pay has contributed to the decline of the town centre, with workers struggling to make ends meet.

'It is time the holiday industry paid a real living wage, valuing their staff and boosting the local economy.'

The campaign will last as long as the holiday industry continues to pay what the campaign says are poverty wages and improve what it calls poor conditions for its staff.

Their campaign website says: 'GYTUC believe that it is time the holiday industry improved pay and working conditions, ensuring its workers are paid the real living wage and are treated with respect.

'In recent years, the use of zero-hour contracts has increased so that employers only call upon workers to work part days when demand is low and many hours when demand is high, with workers fearful that turning down work will see them without any hours.

'Many employers do not pay higher rates for unsociable work, such as night work, or working on a bank holiday.

'This adds up to huge savings and therefore profits for the employer, all at the expense of the employee.

'Rules in place to protect workers, for example the provision of protective clothing are often overlooked, putting workers at risk.'

You can visit their website on https://sites.google.com/view/jointheunion/home