Britain still needs a pay rise – real wages are falling again

30 May 2017, by Alex Collinson in Economics

Are you feeling the pinch? That’s because real wages are falling – again.

In 2016, average real weekly pay (that’s pay once inflation has been taken into account) for UK workers was around £24 less than it was back in 2008. This adds up to over £1,200 a year.

The UK is one of few developed countries where wages have fallen since the 2008 crisis. That’s why falling pay needs to be an election issue. People are seeing prices go up, but wage packets are not keeping pace. And that means debt is rising too.

The whole country is suffering from this pay squeeze. Workers in Yorkshire and the Humber, for example, have seen their average wage fall nearly £1385 since 2008. Those in East Midlands have experienced a real wage fall of over £1801.

How different areas have been hit by the pay squeeze:

Britain still needs a pay rise.

That’s why we want the next government to act fast. They need to:

set out how they’re going to make sure everyone has a decent job

boost the national minimum wage to £10ph as soon as possible

make sure more workers get the top rate of national minimum wage – those aged 18-24 currently get 45p an hour less

get rid of public sector pay restrictions, that are artificially holding down pay for nurses, teachers and other public servants

make sure unions can get into more workplaces to help push up pay for everyone

The next government must tackle this looming living standards crisis. All candidates and parties looking for our votes have to show us that they have a plan to get wages rising and win great jobs for everyone, everywhere in the UK.

That’s why at this election, the TUC is shouting out: “Britain still needs a pay rise!” Join us.

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