According to Trades Union Congress (TUC) analysis released today (Friday 29 November), it will take a working lifetime before the average worker in Yorkshire will earn what one highly-paid UK banker receives for their annual ‘well done’ bonus.
Using the most recent figures reported by the European Banking Authority that reports on bankers’ earnings and bonuses, a highly paid banker in the UK received an annual bonus over £1.1 million (£1,115,314) in 2017.
However, when compared with the median average earnings of a worker in Yorkshire for that year (£21,321), the federation of trade unions calculate it would take 52 years on that salary before an individual earns a banker’s bonus.
Using this analogy, many constituencies in Yorkshire face working well into retirement before they reach these heady sums.
Given the persistently low wages in the area, workers in Keighley would have to work 59 years before they earned the £1 million+ bonus. Other areas who also have to work the longest include Great Grimsby (68 years), Batley & Spen (59 years), Colne Valley (59 years), Pudsey (58 years), Dewsbury (57 years), Bradford South (56 years), and Calder Valley (53 years). The full table for constituencies can be found below.
The TUC in Yorkshire & the Humber say this is indicative of how the types of jobs in many coastal and rural communities are limited, often poorly paid and with fewer routes to progress.
Record pay for bankers but most workers still down on pay
Earlier this year, the TUC reported that real wages in the finance sector had jumped up by almost £120 a week since 2009. However, most other sectors are still down, with the average worker in Yorkshire lagging behind by £19 per week.
Workers in health and social work, and the education sector are facing bigger losses at £36 less per week than a decade ago, with most manufacturing and construction jobs also down.
We need to see wages rising again for everyone. Not just the millionaires.
Commenting, Bill Adams, TUC Yorkshire & the Humber regional secretary said:
“Many of us dream of winning the lottery, especially as we get closer to Christmas. But bankers – the architects of the financial crash – are winning every year on record salaries and bonuses.
“£1 million can buy a lot of things – in this case, one average worker’s entire salary until retirement.
“Banks brought this country to the brink. And working people had to salvage the economy with their hard-earned wages, through pay freezes and salary sacrifices, to reduced public services and cuts to school funding. And many are still feeling the pinch.
“Workers deserve a much fairer share of the wealth they create. We need to see a clamp down on bankers’ salaries – especially when the economy is stagnating.
“And we need to see wages rising again for everyone. Not just the millionaires.”
The TUC is calling on all parties to put working families first.
They must:
Full table of results for Yorkshire constituencies
Description |
Code |
Median |
Years to earn a high-paid banker's annual bonus |
Average high paid banker’s annual bonus |
United Kingdom |
K02000001 |
23,484 |
47 |
1115313.6 |
Yorkshire and The Humber |
E12000003 |
21,321 |
52 |
|
Barnsley Central |
E14000541 |
21,253 |
52 |
|
Barnsley East |
E14000542 |
x |
x |
|
Batley and Spen |
E14000548 |
18,781 |
59 |
|
Beverley and Holderness |
E14000556 |
21,175 |
53 |
|
Bradford East |
E14000587 |
22,128 |
50 |
|
Bradford South |
E14000588 |
19,911 |
56 |
|
Bradford West |
E14000589 |
20,894 |
53 |
|
Brigg and Goole |
E14000596 |
22,858 |
49 |
|
Calder Valley |
E14000614 |
21,024 |
53 |
|
Cleethorpes |
E14000643 |
22,521 |
50 |
|
Colne Valley |
E14000645 |
18,957 |
59 |
|
Dewsbury |
E14000666 |
19,408 |
57 |
|
Don Valley |
E14000667 |
18,017 |
62 |
|
Doncaster Central |
E14000668 |
20,063 |
56 |
|
Doncaster North |
E14000669 |
21,589 |
52 |
|
East Yorkshire |
E14000683 |
18,025 |
62 |
|
Elmet and Rothwell |
E14000689 |
20,214 |
55 |
|
Great Grimsby |
E14000716 |
16,404 |
68 |
|
Halifax |
E14000723 |
22,738 |
49 |
|
Haltemprice and Howden |
E14000724 |
22,672 |
49 |
|
Harrogate and Knaresborough |
E14000730 |
20,775 |
54 |
|
Hemsworth |
E14000740 |
18,998 |
59 |
|
Huddersfield |
E14000756 |
18,483 |
60 |
|
Keighley |
E14000766 |
18,814 |
59 |
|
Kingston upon Hull East |
E14000771 |
19,552 |
57 |
|
Kingston upon Hull North |
E14000772 |
19,593 |
57 |
|
Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle |
E14000773 |
21,197 |
53 |
|
Leeds Central |
E14000777 |
27,310 |
41 |
|
Leeds East |
E14000778 |
25,692 |
43 |
|
Leeds North East |
E14000779 |
17,259 |
65 |
|
Leeds North West |
E14000780 |
24,339 |
46 |
|
Leeds West |
E14000781 |
x |
x |
|
Morley and Outwood |
E14000826 |
23,426 |
48 |
|
Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford |
E14000836 |
21,201 |
53 |
|
Penistone and Stocksbridge |
E14000876 |
24,492 |
46 |
|
Pudsey |
E14000886 |
19,349 |
58 |
|
Richmond (Yorks) |
E14000895 |
19,958 |
56 |
|
Rother Valley |
E14000903 |
x |
x |
|
Rotherham |
E14000904 |
20,978 |
53 |
|
Scarborough and Whitby |
E14000913 |
19,237 |
58 |
|
Scunthorpe |
E14000914 |
19,988 |
56 |
|
Selby and Ainsty |
E14000917 |
21,795 |
51 |
|
Sheffield Central |
E14000919 |
22,603 |
49 |
|
Sheffield South East |
E14000920 |
20,747 |
54 |
|
Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough |
E14000921 |
21,898 |
51 |
|
Sheffield, Hallam |
E14000922 |
x |
x |
|
Sheffield, Heeley |
E14000923 |
x |
x |
|
Shipley |
E14000925 |
21,260 |
52 |
|
Skipton and Ripon |
E14000928 |
19,770 |
56 |
|
Thirsk and Malton |
E14000993 |
20,309 |
55 |
|
Wakefield |
E14001009 |
22,772 |
49 |
|
Wentworth and Dearne |
E14001028 |
19,003 |
59 |
|
York Central |
E14001061 |
21,096 |
53 |
|
York Outer |
E14001062 |
21,595 |
52 |
|
- European Banking Authority (EBA) source for the latest bankers’ bonuses figures is here: https://eba.europa.eu/sites/default/documents/files/documents/10180/2551996/239d027f-07ae-43f7-b161-3f458d443f3c/Report%20on%20High%20Earners%202017.pdf
- Highly-paid bankers are those that earn over €1 million in salary.
- Average gross annual salary for Yorkshire & the Humber (and per constituency and local authority areas) was used to calculate the number of years it would take to earn a highly-paid banker’s bonus. Figures are taken from the ASHE figures from the ONS, table 9, year 2017 to match the annual bonus year from the EBA.
About the TUC: The Trades Union Congress (TUC) exists to make the working world a better place for everyone. We bring together more than 5.6 million working people nationally and more than 600,000 working people in Yorkshire & the Humber who make up our 48 member unions. We support unions to grow and thrive, and we stand up for everyone who works for a living.
Contacts:
Gareth Forest (Lewis)
glewis@tuc.org.uk
0113 200 1075
07810 374976
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