 This week, new figures from the Office for National Statistics show that wages are going up. Yes that's right – up. For the public sector, pay rose by 5.8% in March to May of this year, the highest growth since late 2001, with the private sector rising by 7.3%. Many of you will be scratching your heads at this news, feeling you haven't been benefitting from a single penny of that increase. That's because when taking inflation into account, regular pay actually fell by 0.8% over that same period. And while people in the private sector are by no means having an easy ride, their pay rose by almost 2% more than their public sector peers. Meanwhile, inflation, along with the war in Ukraine, and extreme weather exacerbated by the accelerating climate emergency, have all sent food prices surging, at their fastest rate in nearly 45 years. Pay may be going up, but people are undeniably getting poorer. They're feeling financially hopeless and helpless. Yet now, the Government and the Bank of England are joining forces to imply it's all your fault for daring to ask for higher pay in the middle of a cost of living scandal. They are demanding restraint – while people up and down the country are demanding action from them. The government can help struggling workers and the most vulnerable in our society, and they can tax the rich more – and they are choosing not to. We've seen strikes across the public sector – I know that no-one wants to strike – but they're doing so because they know that without a fair and decent wage for workers, many of whom got this country through the devastating pandemic, vital services will collapse. The government can help struggling workers and the most vulnerable in our society (Picture: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images) Attempts by the Government to pin blame elsewhere simply won't stick. It uses false figures to suggest the country simply can't afford to pay public sector){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
This week, new figures from the Office for National Statistics show that wages are going up. Yes that’s right – up.
For the public sector, pay rose by 5.8% in March to May of this year, the highest growth since late 2001, with the private sector rising by 7.3%.
Many of you will be scratching your heads at this news, feeling you haven’t been benefitting from a single penny of that increase.
That’s because when taking inflation into account, regular pay actually fell by 0.8% over that same period. And while people in the private sector are by no means having an easy ride, their pay rose by almost 2% more than their public sector peers.