‘BRITAIN NEEDS A PAY RISE IN 2022’, TUC WARNS

4th January 2022
Sarah Hughes

The Trade Union Council (TUC) has urged for a payrise across Britain, as real wages are “barely” set to grow in the next five years.

This comes as analysis conducted by the TUC revealed that real wages are set to rise by just 0.6% (£150) a year between now and 2026.

However, the TUC estimates that if real pay growth were back to pre-financial crisis levels, workers would be £500 better off a year and £2,500 better off by 2026.

READ MORE: Almost half of UK supermarket workers earn below the real Living Wage, research reveals

“If I have one message for this government at the start of 2022, it is this: Britain needs a pay rise,” TUC head Frances O’Grady said.

“Our economy will only recover when working people can afford to spend in local shops and businesses. That’s the way to boost demand, grow the economy and protect jobs.” 

With record high inflation rates in over a decade coupled with a cost-of-living crisis, supermarket workers are facing financial hardships with little support.

This comes as Organise revealed one in three Sainsbury’s workers regularly worried about putting food and drink on the table.

Additionally, International Food Aid Network reported an increase in supermarket workers using food banks.

O’Grady added: “This Conservative government has had eleven years to get wages rising. And they have failed, over and over again… unless ministers act now, the future looks bleak.”

As a result, the TUC has urged the government to “get round the table” with unions and employers to negotiate sector-wide fair pay agreements, and that every employer should be bound by them.

Directed to the Prime Minister, O’Grady concluded: “After decades of real wage cuts and falling living standards, no one can seriously say working people don’t deserve a pay rise.”

“That’s my priority, and the priority of the whole union movement, in 2022. The prime minister should shape up and make it his priority too.”