Pay inequality has soared across the West Midlands since 2000, says TUC

Wage inequality has soared across the West Midlands over the last 13 years according to new TUC

analysis published today (Monday) to coincide with the beginning of the TUC’s first Fair Pay Fortnight which runs until Sunday 6 April 2014.

The figures – based on full-time earnings from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) – show that between 2000 (when the data was first collected) and 2013 the pay gap between the top 10 per cent and the bottom 10 per cent of earners in the west midlands rose by 7 per cent. This is higher than the national average rise in the pay gap of five per cent over the same period.

A similar picture emerges in the East Midlands where the gap between those on the 90^th and 10^th percentile of earnings has grown by 5 per cent since 2000.

The TUC analysis reveals that across most of the rest of the country the pay inequality ratio is also rising – up by four per cent between 2000 and 2013 in the North West, three per cent in the East of England, and two per cent in Scotland and the North East. Across London and the South east wage inequality has soared by 14 percent and nine percent respectively.

Only Wales and the South West have seen pay inequality reduce over the last 13 years. However the TUC believes this is more down to top earners not doing as well as in other parts of the UK, rather than those at the bottom getting a better deal.

Comparing the pay gap between the top 90 per cent of earners and those earning a median wage paints a similar picture of rising wage inequality. By this measure inequality has risen by 4.5 per cent across the UK, with the largest rise (8.5 per cent) in London.

The TUC research also reveals how much the top 10 per cent of earners across the UK bring home and how their salaries vary greatly. The highest top earners are in London where they receive £82,000 a year, followed by those in the South East who are on £57,000 and the East of England where they earn about £52,000 per annum.

In contrast, an annual salary of about £48,000 puts workers in the top 10 per cent of earners in the West Midlands and £47,000 makes the top 10 per cent in the East Midlands. This means that top earners across the Midlands command only 60 per cent of what those in London are taking home.

Workers on the bottom 10^th percentile in London will be earning less than £18,000 a year, less than £15,400 in the South East and less than £14,800 per annum in the rest of England, Scotland and Wales.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “This new analysis shows how wage inequality has soared in parts of the UK over the last decade. This growing pay gap is bad news for our economy and bad news for living standards.

“The picture is particularly bleak in London and the South East, but in areas like the Midlands, the North West and the East of England a significant gulf has developed between top and bottom earners. Unless this trend stops now and more high-skilled jobs with decent pay are created, this worrying pattern is likely to become even more entrenched.

“Everyone must benefit from the recovery, not just those at the top. The TUC wants to see a greater commitment to pay the living wage from both government and employers, a crackdown on excessive executive pay, and modern wages councils which could set higher minimum wages where employers can afford to pay more.

“During Fair Pay Fortnight we’re asking workers to back our call to MPs to get all political parties to put decent pay at the top of their agendas in the run up to the election.”

A short-term Budget to shrink the state and help the rich, says TUC

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Responding to the Chancellor’s Budget today (Wednesday), TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“This was a pre-election Budget, with its give-aways aimed at the better off rather than lifting the living standards of the many.
“It will be paid for by further years of austerity, public services brought to near collapse, public sector pay cuts and a welfare cap that bites into the safety net that any of us might need.
“There was nothing for the young who continue to face the worst job market in decades and unaffordable housing.
“Nor was there any relief for low and middle earners who, after years of falling living standards, have no spare cash to take advantage of the help for savers, and who now face year on year cuts in benefits for working families as the welfare cap bites.
“The best news for the long-term health of the economy is the genuine help for manufacturing, but it was the exception in this highly political short-term Budget that continued the Chancellor’s project to shrink the state and help the rich.”

Tony Benn was a friend to the whole labour movement

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Tony Benn speaking at the 2010 Women Chainmakers' Festival

Commenting on the death this morning (Friday) of Tony Benn, TUC General Secretary  Frances O’Grady said:
“Tony Benn was a friend and an inspiration to me personally and to the whole labour movement.
“He believed history shows us that big progressive changes in society are driven not by political elites, but by the endeavours of ordinary working people. His commitment to our causes meant that he was a familiar face at union events from Congress to the annual Tolpuddle Martyrs festival.
“His unceasing willingness to march alongside us and the deep sincerity he showed to everyone he encountered in the labour movement means that he leaves many friends, and has personally inspired the activism of many people from all walks of life.”

Today is ‘national destroy public sector morale day’, says TUC

Commenting on today’s public sector pay announcements, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady, said: “It is ‘national destroy public sector morale day’ today as the government announces a further cut in the living standards of public sector workers, despite the economic recovery.

“NHS staff have been singled out for particularly harsh treatment, at a time when they are already facing a funding crisis, staff cuts, privatisation and top-down restructuring.

“With public service workers due to pay higher pension contributions, many will see almost no difference in their take home pay despite facing higher bills.

“Ministers’ message to Britain’s young people is that they should not seek a career in health, education or other public services if they want a decent standard of living or to work for an employer who values them.”

Government proposals will fail to tackle abuse of zero-hours contracts

Government proposals to clamp down on the abuse of zero-hours contracts will fail to stem the widespread exploitation of workers, the TUC says today (Thursday) in its response to the government’s consultation.

The TUC submission highlights how zero-hours workers are dogged by low pay, under-employment, and job and income insecurity. Half of all zero-hours workers earn less than £15,000 a year (compared to 6 per cent of other employees) and two in five want to work more hours, according to recent research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Three-quarters of zero-hours workers report that their hours change each week. These varying hours – and the unstable, irregular income they provide – make it hard for staff to organise childcare, pay monthly bills and plan ahead, says the TUC.

The TUC is concerned that zero-hours contracts allow employers to evade basic employment rights such as maternity and paternity leave and redundancy pay, while some companies pressurise workers to remain available on the off-chance they will be offered work. None of the proposals contained in the government’s consultation deal with any of these problems, warns the TUC.

The TUC instead wants the government to introduce compensation, including travel costs, where shifts for zero-hours workers are cancelled at short notice, as well as written contracts with guaranteed hours where a zero-hours worker does regular shifts. The TUC would also like to see the government simplify employment law so that all workers get the same basic employment rights.

The submission supports the government’s proposal to ban exclusivity clauses – which prevent people from working for anyone else – in employment contracts, though this recommendation on its own will fail to meet the government’s stated aim of ending the abuse of zero-hours contracts.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The growth of zero-hours contracts, along with other forms of precarious employment, is a key reason why working people have seen their living standards worsen significantly in recent years.

“These contracts are commonly associated with poverty pay, poor terms and conditions, and leave staff vulnerable to exploitation from bad bosses.

“We welcomed the government’s belated acknowledgement last year that abuse of zero-hours contracts needs to be stopped. It’s disappointing therefore that they’ve failed to back this up with any meaningful policies to tackle exploitation.

“If the government wants to be on the side of hard-working people it needs to put proper policies in place to curb exploitative working practices, even if this means ruffling the feathers of a few business lobbyists.”

TUC welcomes minimum wage increase

Commenting on the announcement today (Wednesday) that the government has accepted the Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) recommendation to increase the adult national minimum wage by three per cent – 19p an hour – from this October, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“It is good that the government has accepted the LPC’s call for an increase in the minimum wage. The rise will benefit around 1.5 million workers, almost two-thirds (61 per cent) of whom will be women.

“But this must be seen as only the first step in a series of bolder increases in future years that will help the many low-paid workers – who are suffering the tightest squeeze in their living standards in a century – and who think the Chancellor promised them £7 an hour.

“We also urge the government to pick up the LPC recommendation to protect migrant domestic workers, as they too often suffer low pay and other forms of abuse.”

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