The minimum wage should be increased to £15 an hour as soon as possible to help millions of low-paid workers struggling amid the cost of living crisis, the TUC has said.

In a move that opens a fresh policy gap between unions and Keir Starmer’s Labour party, the TUC has thrown its weight behind calls for a more ambitious legal floor on pay rates. The union body said the government needed to draw up plans to get wages rising as workers suffer the biggest hit to living standards on record.

It said too many workers were living “wage packet to wage packet”, and a £15 minimum should be in place by at least 2030 but could be achieved sooner with a government that was serious about getting wages rising after years of sluggish pay growth.

The minimum wage is now set at £9.50 for those aged 23 and over, with lower rates for those who are younger.

Strike action has spread across the economy during a summer of unrest, as workers see the real value of their wages cut by inflation soaring to the highest level in 40 years.

Port workers at Felixstowe have been on picket lines this week demanding higher pay to compensate for inflation rising above 10%, with further increases expected within months driven by rising energy bills. Postal services will also be disrupted by four days of strikes at Royal Mail, starting on Friday.

Frances O’Grady, the general secretary of the TUC, said: “Millions of low-paid workers live wage packet to wage packet, struggling to get by – and they are now being pushed to the brink by eye-watering bills and soaring prices.

“For too long workers have been told that businesses can’t afford to pay them more. But again and again the evidence has shown that firms are still making profits and increasing jobs – we can afford