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It would take the average Yorkshire worker 52 years to earn a high-paid banker's annual bonus!

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. 

Source: European Banking Authority, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (2007)

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:  

  • Get wages rising faster for everyone - not just the boardroom 
  • Ban zero-hours contracts and guarantee everyone the security at work we need  
  • Rebuild our NHS and the public services we all rely on – and don't cut taxes for the rich. 
Editors note

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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