PAY ‘nosedived’ last month, as the quarterly rate of earnings growth crashed to 0.7% from 1.9% the previous month.
The government’s preferred CPI monthly inflation measure currently stands at 1.8%, meaning that wages are collapsing fast.
Meanwhile, on the back of growing ‘self-employment’, the government is claiming that unemployment fell 161,000 to 2.16 million.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said yesterday that youth unemployment now stands at 853,000 and the number of people successfully claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance in May fell by 27,400 to 1.09 million.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady responded: ‘Pay packets have nosedived since the government prematurely declared an end to Britain’s cost of living crisis last month.
‘It’s great that more people are joining the workforce but hugely worrying that workers are still not getting the decent pay rises they need to get by.
‘The news that the economy is returning to its pre-crash size will be of cold comfort to the millions of workers who are still thousands of pounds a year worse off compared to five years ago.
‘With pay rises falling below one per cent, an early interest rise could cause major problems for millions of mortgage-holders.’
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: ‘Precarious self-employment is soaring, while the continuing wage siege feeds a fall in living standards not seen since the Victorian era leaving the finances of ordinary families on a knife edge.
‘Under this Tory-led government we have seen the rise of low paid insecure work and in work poverty, while the proceeds of growth are being funnelled into the pockets of wealthy.
‘That 4.5 million are now self-employed without rights, protections and pensions, is a cause for worry, not for celebration. In David Cameron’s Britain the mantra is work harder and get poorer.
‘The Bank of England needs to resist raising interest rates and pushing ordinary families struggling to make ends meet further into the financial abyss.’
Meanwhile, local government employees, members of Unite, started voting yesterday on possible strike action over the ‘insulting’ one per cent pay offer.
The ballot is over whether they wish to take strike action or industrial action short of a strike after enduring four years of pay cuts in real terms. The ballot closes on Monday 30 June.
Unite is seeking a £1-an-hour increase in pay for the local council workforce which has 400,000 employees earning below £15,000 a year and a million earning less than £21,000.
Unite national officer for local government Fiona Farmer said: ‘Our members have endured four years of pay cuts in real terms and they have now said: “Enough is enough” to poverty pay.
‘We are expecting a strong mandate for industrial action which could take place on 10 July.
‘Any industrial action that Unite may take will be coordinated with the other local authority trade unions to achieve maximum impact.’
