Tens of thousands of workers have held protests in London, Glasgow and Belfast to call for an increase in wages.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) organised the demonstrations under the banner Britain Needs A Pay Rise, following days of industrial action from nurses, midwives and civil servants.
Midwives went on strike for the first time in their history over the Government's decision not to pay a recommended 1% increase to all NHS staff.
Hospital radiographers and prison officers are due to hold strikes next week over the same dispute.
TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Our message is that after the longest and deepest pay squeeze in recorded history, it's time to end the lock-out that has kept the vast majority from sharing in the economic recovery.
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Gallery: Protesters March In London Calling For Pay Rise
Tens of thousands of workers have been taking part in protests to call for an end to austerity and to highlight the need for pay to increase
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Public sector workers including teachers, nurses, civil servants and hospital cleaners marched alongside railway workers, postmen and employees from private firms
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The main rally was in London but protests were also held in Glasgow and Belfast
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The TUC organised the demonstrations under the banner Britain Needs A Pay Rise, following days of industrial action by public sector workers
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The TUC says people are facing the biggest squeeze on their incomes since Victorian times, claiming average wages have fallen by £50 a week in real terms since 2007
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The TUC said between 80,000 and 90,000 were on the march in London
"The average worker is £50 a week worse off than in 2007 and five million earn less than the living wage. Meanwhile, top directors now earn 175 times more than the average worker."
Lynn Burbidge, a healthcare assistant at a hospital in Kent, said she was joining the march "because the Government needs to listen to us".
She said every month she faces a decision of whether to "pay your bills or buy food" and constantly having to budget was "demeaning".
"I've worked for the NHS for nearly 30 years and I'm still in the same position," she told Sky News.
"I'm 20% worse off now than what I was 10 years ago ... while the Government they've just accepted an 11% pay rise - I'm only after 1%."
Jade Hill, 30, who works as a nurse at a hospital in Norfolk, said her pay meant she and her partner could not yet afford to start a family.
"I can barely afford to keep me and my husband, let alone having children on top of that, at the moment it is impossible," she said.
One cleaner, called Nana, told Sky News how he struggles to provide for his family despite juggling three jobs and working a 12-hour day on minimum wage.
"My social life is very bad. Secondly, I have a lot of debt to pay. The TV licence is coming up and we haven't got enough money to pay it," he said.
"They wrote to me that the bailiffs will come to my house. I've no choice, (but to) pray for the nation to come to our aid, to increase our wages and then we can make our ends meet."
A Treasury spokesman said: "Under this Government we've seen the largest annual fall in unemployment, more people in work than ever before, and inequality lower than the average under the previous government, proving that the Government's long-term economic plan is working.
"The only sustainable way to raise living standards is to keep working through the plan that is building a resilient economy and has enabled us to announce the first real-terms increase in the minimum wage since the great recession.
"We appreciate that the effects of the great recession are still being felt, which is why we have taken continued action to help hard-working people by cutting income tax, freezing fuel duty, helping local authorities to freeze council tax, cutting energy bills, providing free school meals, and reducing childcare costs."
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