March 01, 2011
An increasing number of workers unhappy about their level of pay in the current economic climate could bet set to launch grievance cases, an expert has suggested.
Frances O'Grady, Deputy Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), claims people are in desperate need of having their annual pay increased amidst continuing economic difficulties and poor job security.
“Stagnant wages go right to the core of Britain's economic malaise,” Mr O’Grady claims, and employees will begin challenging their employers to meet wage demands over the coming months, he added.
"Winning better pay for workers is essential not just to help people through this period of austerity, but to lay the foundations for a stable and sustainable recovery,” he claimed.
The economic outlook is grim and workers are facing an unprecedented assault on their living standards. Thanks to the increase in VAT, real wages this year are likely to be no higher than they were in 2005. It's clear these are hugely difficult times for working people.
The TUC - an organisation which represents 6.2 million employees across all sectors in the UK – claims that employers need to soften their wage practices if the UK is to ever claw its way out of a lingering recession.
“At a time when workers are struggling with benefit cuts and tax rises, falling real wages mean suppressed demand. We face a dangerous vicious circle of weak consumer spending, sluggish demand, and a depressed economy,” added Mr O’Grady. “Without higher wages, we won't be able to break that destructive cycle.”
