Pay rise? Not yet

Bank of England governor, Mark Carney addressed conference, focusing on how he believed British workers could get a pay rise.

In an in-depth analysis of the link between the number of people working and productivity against interest rates, the Bank’s governor believed if current trends continued, higher wages should be possible within three years.

But Unite believed his speech to the TUC was a missed opportunity – which failed to  give hope to millions of working people and those struggling to find work, particularly the young.

In his reaction to the speech, Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said, “Mark Carney’s speech highlighted the failure of ministers to tackle the economic challenges.

“In the past, he has called for ‘inclusive capitalism’, but the tone of today’s speech was that working people will have to work longer, and, in many cases, for lower rates of pay.

“Working people are being asked to bear the burdens of the failure of capitalism and the 2008 banking crisis, and the grim austerity that followed which still dogs our people to this day.”

Mark Carney did acknowledge the plight of working people. He said that Bank of England research showed 40 per cent of British households were feeling their weight of indebtedness acutely.

But, Len McCluskey insisted that without plentiful, well-paid jobs, the UK economy would never fully recover and reach its true potential for the benefit of all.

“Mark Carney should have made a strong call to business and the corporate sector to take more responsibility for providing greater employment opportunities, boosting pay levels and taking more a pro-active role in the communities in which they operate,” said Len.

“Investment is key and the corporate sector needs to unlock its coffers to create more opportunities for economic growth at a time when manufacturing output is at a 14-month low.

“Companies have stockpiled cash mountains in reserves, which should be unleashed.

“The message from Unite remains the same – ‘Britain needs a pay rise’.”