This election is the most important in a generation for working families, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady will say as she takes part in trade union campaigning in Hartlepool and Middlesbrough on Thursday (28 November).
TUC analysis shows that:
The TUC is calling on all parties to put working families first.
They must:
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:
“Working people have had enough. Whatever our background, we all deserve decent jobs and public services so we can take proper care of our families.
“But the North East has borne the brunt of a decade of Conservative cuts.
“Public services are crumbling. Wages have stood still, but the cost of living keeps going up. And too often the only jobs available are insecure and low paid.
”We want better. So let’s use our votes to fix Britain and make politicians put working-class families first.”
Real wage losses: cumulative real wage loss is calculated using data from the 1997-2019 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). The analysis uses median weekly earnings excluding overtime, and calculates real earnings using April 2019 prices, as this is when ASHE data is collected. For each year since 2008, the real pay gap between the year and 2008 is found. The sum of these gaps for the years 2009 from 2019 gives us a cumulative figure, which is multiplied by 52 to give an annual figure.
To compare, we did the same calculations for the 11 years previous: 1997-2008. This is the same methodology but using 1997 as the start year. Wages grew strongly and consistently across this 11-year period. By 2008, the median employee in the North East was £21,838 better off than they would have been if real wages stayed at 1997 levels.
Living wage statistics: taken from Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) by local authority, UK, April 2018 and April 2019. Full data set can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/adhocs/10743annualsurveyofhoursandearningsasheestimatesofthenumberandproportionofemployeejobswithhourlypaybelowthelivingwagebyworkgeographylocalauthorityandparliamentaryconstituencyukapril2018andapril2019
These figures are taken from the 2019 local authority data (table 7.1a 2019)
The real Living Wage rate is independently set. New rates were announced this week, with the rate of £9.30 for UK workers outside of London. This is paid to employees of organisations who have accredited to the Living Wage Foundation. Further information can be found here https://www.livingwage.org.uk/what-real-living-wage
Child poverty statistics: taken from End Child Poverty figures released May 2019. Full data set can be found here: http://www.endchildpoverty.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Regional-Estimates-LAD-North-East-with-summary.xlsx
Council spending cuts: a full list of all local authorities in England is available here: https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/LAfundingCuts.xlsx
Methodology:
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 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:
TUC press office
media@tuc.org.uk
020 7467 1248
Beth Farhat (NE Regional Secretary)
bfarhat@tuc.org.uk
0191 2275550
07747 636408
Tim Nichols
tnichols@tuc.org.uk
020 7467 1388
07808 761844
Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin
nnimhaoileoin@tuc.org.uk
020 7467 1288
07771 713574
Alex Rossiter
arossiter@tuc.org.uk
020 7467 1285
07887 572130
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