New Year message – 2015 must be the year of decent jobs and fair pay for North West workers

The North West TUC has called for improvements in the quality of jobs, as well as their number, alongside pay rises for workers across the region in their 2015 New Year message. In her New Year message, North West TUC Regional Secretary Lynn Collins says workers across the North West have not seen the benefits of a supposed recovery and says that their needs to be greater urgency from employers and politicians to tackle the real problems workers face. 

Figures this year revealed that workers across the North West were on average £90 a week worse off due to pay remaining below inflation. As well as this, one in four North West workers are paid below the Living Wage, meaning that those in work face bigger challenges from the cost of living crisis and the possibility of being one of the millions who suffer in work poverty. 

Despite falling unemployment, the North West TUC have called for greater quality jobs alongside quantity, after figures revealed a deficit of 71,000 full time jobs in the region and a rise of 18% in the numbers of workers who are ‘underemployed’ across the region since 2010. On top of this, new figures also revealed that only 5 local authority areas in the North West have average house prices that are less than four times the average salary, whilst over half of all areas see the average house price deemed unaffordable based on salaries.

Lynn Collins says all of this sets out the challenge for employers and politicians in what is set to be an important year with a General Election on the horizon. She calls for policy commitments on pay and jobs, alongside key issues such as the NHS and opportunities for young people, to ensure voters have a future they want to go out and vote for.

North West TUC Regional Secretary Lynn Collins says:

“All the evidence shows that workers in the North West who suffered during the recession are yet to see any benefit from the slow recovery. Pay increases have remained low or none existent and whilst unemployment has fallen in quantity, there has been a structural change in the labour market with more forms of casual, agency, temporary and low hours employment. This, alongside the average wage now worth £90 less than when the Coalition came to power, shows that workers are still paying the price.

“We can end the scandal of in work poverty by putting pay rises at the top of the priority list for employers who want to increase productivity and invest in their most valuable asset - their employees. 

“We will continue our campaign on the living wage, building on their work in 2014 which saw over 100 more North West employers become accredited and pay their staff a decent rate of pay. We will put pressure on those who can afford to pay it and won’t and work together with those who want to start paying it.

“We need politicians to step up and direct policies to what people want and need - an economy that works for all, an economy that creates well paid and secure jobs and an economy that is balanced, creating a range of jobs across industries. We don’t need the posturing politics, or policies like threats to strikes that help no one and certainly don’t help workers when unions can’t negotiate and improve pay and conditions for their millions of members.

“Young people across the North West need much more. They need to know in 2015 that there will be improvements for them and that they have a voice that is heard and listened to. They have bore the brunt of cuts and changes to the labour market, be it low pay or zero hours where the majority are affected are those young people. It’s become almost impossible for some young people to get on the housing ladder and we must see changes that benefit young people in workplaces and at home. In an election that will be closely fought, politicians need to engage more with young people if they want to win their vote.

“And in 2015 we need to celebrate the diverse communities we have here in the region, ensuring tolerance and respect instead of a culture of discrimination and blame.

“There is a lot to be done. There are the key issues of the NHS, education and much more. But what is clear is that unions across the region and indeed the country are ready to rise to the challenge, to call for a fairer and improved deal for workers and our communities. We need solutions to our problems and we need politicians and employers to work together with us to implement these to benefit the millions who need them. We don’t want to be talking of 2016 New Year messages in twelve months time on the back of such scandals as City Link. Workers deserve better and need better. 2015 has to be the year in which we achieve better.”