Worst fall in real pay for 8 years, says TUC
Commenting on the latest employment figures published by the ONS today (Tuesday), which show that real wages fell by 1.5% (using CPI) over the year, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:
"Working people deserve financial security and a wage they can live on.
“But instead, they are facing the steepest decline in real pay for eight years, and a cost of living crisis that will get worse if the government doesn’t act now.
“Energy bills will rise at least 14 times faster than wages this year. Household budgets are already stretched to the brink and can’t take any more.
“The government must use the spring statement to act.
“We need a plan to get wages rising in all jobs, a boost to Universal Credit, and a windfall tax on oil and gas profits – with the money raised going to energy grants for hard-pressed families.”
- TUC analysis published on Saturday shows that energy bills will rise at least 14 times faster than wages this year: https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/tuc-energy-bills-set-rise-least-14-times-faster-wages-2022
- Today’s ONS labour market statistics are here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/march2022 They show that real pay using the CPI measure of inflation fell at the fastest rate in eight years. Using the CPIH measure, it fell at the fastest rate since August 2014, other than a one-off month in June 2020.
- The Trades Union Congress (TUC) exists to make the working world a better place for everyone. We bring together the 5.5 million working people 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.
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