{"id":16867,"date":"2018-12-14T15:43:29","date_gmt":"2018-12-14T15:43:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=16867"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:57:50","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:57:50","slug":"wages-unite-launches-cost-living-inquiry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=16867","title":{"rendered":"‘Stuck in the slow lane’"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The average worker has lost nearly \u00c2\u014112,000 in real earnings since the financial crisis a decade ago, new research has shown.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A report from the TUC found that in some parts of the country, wages are worth a third less than in 2008, with certain areas in the UK hit harder than others such as Redbridge in London, Epsom and Waverley in Surrey, Selby in North Yorkshire and Anglesey in north Wales.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Real wage losses over the last decade ranged from \u00c2\u014120,000 a year in London to about \u00c2\u01415,000 in the North East. In the South West, average real wage losses were \u00c2\u014114,400.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The North West has also seen a significant loss of real wages over the last decade \u00e2\u20ac\u201c pay packets in some areas are worth over \u00c2\u0141150 a week less than in 2008.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

According to the TUC\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s calculations, wages will not recover to pre-crisis levels until 2024. The analysis claims that the UK is the only country with an advanced economy besides Italy whose real wages are still below pre-crises levels.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TUC general secretary Frances O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady condemned the government for failing to tackle Britain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cost-of-living crisis.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAs a result, millions of families will be worse off this Christmas than a decade ago,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhile pay packets have recovered in most leading economies, wage growth in the UK is stuck in the slow lane.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMinisters need to wake up and get wages rising faster,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis means cranking up the pressure on businesses to pay staff more, especially at a time when many companies are sitting on large profits.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite inquiry<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Cranking up the pressure\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 is precisely what Unite is now doing as it launches a formal inquiry into the cost of living. Through this inquiry the union aims to challenge the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s official inflation index, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which consistently underestimates increases in the cost of goods and services.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite argues that RPI is the most suitable inflation index for collective bargaining simply because it is more accurate \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it includes the cost of people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s homes and so takes into account mortgage payments, rents and tax, unlike the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s CPI, which doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t include housing costs at all.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The CPI further fails to reflect the lived experiences of working people because this measure used to calculate expenditure includes groups such as the super-rich, tourists, pensioners and students living in halls of residence. RPI, on the other hand, includes none of these groups irrelevant to workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 bargaining position.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cost of living inquiry aims also to challenge profitable employers who refuse to give their workers adequate pay rises, as well as counter the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0098living wage\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 ceiling, which \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as any worker on the minimum wage knows \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is far below what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s needed to live a decent life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite Executive Officer Sharon Graham, who is leading the inquiry, said that the union is launching the inquiry \u00e2\u20ac\u015bto challenge the failure to tackle falling living standards and address the aspirations of working people”.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOrdinary people need to find their own voice through unions,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe views of experts can be important but so are the demands of workers. We need to raise confidence and aim for a good life not just an acceptable one. Make no mistake the money is often there to pay. We now need to go out and make sure we have a plan to get it.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey hailed the cost of living inquiry, calling it \u00e2\u20ac\u015bimportant work being done by our union to challenge inequality and to ensure workers get their fair share of the wealth that they help to create\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Commenting on today’s TUC\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s report on UK workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 loss of real earnings over the last decade, McCluskey highlighted the fact that union members see a pay premium.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe call it the union dividend,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he tweeted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just me who says that – the @bankofengland recently confirmed TU membership is associated with higher pay for workers of between 10 and 15%.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The average worker has lost nearly \u00c2\u014112,000 in real earnings since the financial crisis a decade ago, new research has shown.   A report from the TUC found that in some parts of the country, wages are worth a third less than in 2008, with certain areas in the UK hit harder than others such […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2108,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[135,86,165],"wps_subtitle":"Amid major post-crisis wage losses, Unite launches cost of living inquiry","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16867"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16867"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25669,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16867\/revisions\/25669"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}