UK workers' wages fell 1% a year between 2008 and 2015, TUC says
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Version 0 of 1. Workers in the UK saw their wages fall by 1% a year in the period following the financial crisis, putting the country in 103rd place in a global ranking of pay growth compiled by the TUC. The trade union umbrella body said wages rose in many parts of the world between 2008 and 2015, but average pay in the UK fell once the impact of inflation was taken into account. It added that the ranking was unlikely to improve soon, with recent figures showing a new slowdown in earnings growth. UK workers also face renewed pressures from rising prices. The analysis, based on figures from the International Labour Organisation, showed the highest real-terms wage growth was in Tajikistan, where average earnings increased by 14.4% a year between 2008 and 2015. Other countries in the top 10, with wage growth of 6.9% or more a year, included Zambia, Cambodia and China. Amongthe UK’s European neighbours, wages in Germany rose by 0.9% a year over the period, while they were up by 0.6% in France. The TUC data showed the UK was one of 21 countries where employees saw wages fall in the seven years after the crisis. Ireland was also among them, with a wage drop of 0.1%, putting it in 92nd place on the list. The largest drops in pay were recorded in Sri Lanka and Jamaica, where workerswere earning 4.2% less than in 2008, the TUC said. The TUC’s general secretary, Frances O’Grady, said: “UK workers suffered one of the worst pay squeezes in the world after the financial crash. And with food prices and household bills shooting up again, another living standards crisis is a real danger.” O’Grady called on the government to help families who were worse off than before the financial crash. She added: “The chancellor should end the pay restrictions on nurses, teachers and other key workers that are making them thousands of pounds poorer.” The UK’s lowest-paid workers are also the target of a government campaign, launched on Monday, to increase awareness of the national living wage and minimum wage as well as encouraging employees to check whether they were being paid properly. Significant numbers of low-paid workers were confused about when they should be receiving pay and what deductions could be legally made by their employer, according to research among 1,4000 workers who earned less than £15,000 a year. The survey for the government found that fewer than a third of workers knew they should be paid for travel time between appointments, while only 42% knew that staff had to be paid for time spent undergoing security checks. Sports Direct and Argos are among the firms that have admitted not paying staff for time spent on checks. The government advertising campaign will focus on some of these examples and encourage employees to check their pay and contact the employment disputes service, Acas, if they are not getting the minimum wage. The national living wage – paid to employees aged 25 and over – is £7.20 an hour, while the national minimum wage for younger workers ranges from £4 to £6.95 an hour. These rates will rise on 1 April. Jennie Granger, the director general for customer compliance at HMRC, which supervises payment of the national living wage, said: “Employers must pay their workers what they’re entitled to and follow the rules. We will act to ensure ripped-off workers receive their proper pay and hardworking businesses are not losing out to dodgy dealers who cheat their staff.” |