Action on pay needed as wages fail to cover cost of living

Lynn Collins, Regional Secretary of the North West Trade Union Congress

The North West TUC today called for action on pay, as the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that unemployment has fallen but pay growth slowed to 0.7%, down on last month’s 1.7% figure. They welcomed the fall in unemployment across the region but warned that workers will fail to feel any benefit from a ‘recovering economy’ with pay growth well below the rate of inflation (1.8%).

During the period from February to April, unemployment fell by 13,000 (4.6%) to 266,000 across the region, with an unemployment rate of 7.6%, higher than the UK average of 6.6%. However despite the fall in unemployment, the TUC remain cautious about what this will mean for workers as pay growth is not keeping up with the cost of living, despite the government claiming last month that the ‘cost of living crisis’ was over.

Lynn Collins, NWTUC Regional Secretary, said: “It’s great to see that more people are getting back into work and we hope that unemployment continues to fall. As important, is providing good quality jobs for people to move into – ones with good terms and conditions, guaranteed hours and a decent rate of pay. What we see from these figures is pay failing to keep up with what it costs workers to get to work, feed their families and pay their energy bills.”

“We’ve had the International Festival of Business start in Liverpool this week and whilst it’s good for potential investment that will create jobs, we want to see employers ensuring they invest in their staff so they don’t find it difficult to get by. It’s clear that workers across the North West, and indeed the UK, workers need a pay rise, to share in the rewards of any recovery.”

“Instead we see employers holding back on pay rises and the consequences for workers can be severe. As well as tackling the big issue of pay this year, trade unions across the region will be looking at what the consequences of low pay are – increasing debt, particularly on the household essentials, pay day loan use and more people using food banks.”