TUC'S austerity bus visits Swindon on Friday as workers lose £6,500

Swindon workers have seen more than £6,500 wiped off their earnings since 2010, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics.

The figures - average weekly earnings down by 7.9% - have come to light as the TUC's austerity uncovered bus today visits the town to hear from local people how the government's cuts are affecting them.

The bus will park up at Wharf Green in the Brunel Centre from 11am to 3pm, giving shoppers and other passers-by the chance to pop in and tell their personal stories of the recession. The Great Western Jazz Band from the Musicians' Union will add to the occasion.

They will also be asked if they would like to send messages to the government about how the combination of spending cuts, changes to benefits and falling wages is affecting them.

Nigel Costley, Regional Secretary of the South West TUC, said: 'Since the banks triggered the credit crunch and the resultant recession way back in 2008, average pay rises have failed to keep up with price rises, and real incomes have fallen, making living standards tumble and leaving far too many earning too little to get by.

'Across the public sector and in much of the private sector pay is frozen or rising far more slowly than inflation. Put in simple terms, too much pay freeze = no more spending = no customers = no business = continued economic depression. Customer-facing sectors like retail are first to feel the pinch, but the effect can be swiftly felt throughout the whole economy.

'This weak pay growth is a function of an economic cycle that has become stuck at the bottom. Meanwhile, at the top, UK corporations are sitting on a record amount of reserves at the moment - some £725 billion.

'They are simply waiting to see whether the government can get the economy going again. If even a small fraction of that amount went into wages we would all enjoy real pay growth again and there would be no more need for pay freezes.

'A government that can deliver good pay rises and good levels of employment is certain to trump a government that abandons either of these things. Such a government needs to work constructively with working people and their unions to deliver the rising living standards benefits that we all want and need.'