Inflation: recovery will be choked off if Chancellor does not protect real wages, warns TUC

Commenting on today’s (Wednesday) inflation figures, which show CPI in January up to 5.5% ahead of wage growth in December at 3.7%, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“If real wages keep losing value, families will spend less, business revenues will fall, and the recovery will be choked off.

“But there is a way out of the cost of living crisis. The Chancellor must fund real pay rises across the public sector and raise the minimum wage to £10. This will boost household spending, helping businesses recover and creating conditions for wage growth across the economy.

“And working people must get stronger pay bargaining rights, so that unions can win fair pay rises. That’s how we can finally end the longest pay squeeze in more than 200 years.”