Workers suffer record pay slump in face of rocketing inflation

[srb7677]

The current strikes have struck gold. They have wanted to strike for ages for purely political reasons but the current inflation has opened the doors.

So you don't think the fact that workers are being offered pitiful pay rises well below the rate of inflation - massive de facto pay cuts - has anything to do with it then or is that mere coincidence?

Why do those of you on the right always seek to portray those fighting for survival as motivated by greed and malice when the real greed is at the top?

My friend works for the DWP processing Universal Credit claims. With inflation already in double figures and now projected to hit 18%, the highest rate since 1976, she and her colleagues have been offered an utterly pitiful 2%, which is in real terms a massive pay cut. Morale is at rock bottom and there is much talk amongst staff of wanting to initiate mass walkouts. The unions are responding to and reflecting this demand rather than leading reluctant workers by the nose.

I also have several friends who work for the Royal Mail. It is the same there. The call for action is coming from ordinary frontline staff and the unions are simply responding to and reflecting that call.

In seeing the unions as malicious operators you are stuck in a 1970s mindset.

[Good old]

You're not kidding it's unbalanced, I'll show you just unbalanced it is with your broader shoulders nonsense.



The top 10% earners in the U.K. pay more tax than the other 90 put together, so instead of bleating about your situation get off your arse and work a bit harder. All I hear is 'What is the government doing to help me?', what are you doing to help your self should be the question.

As the the top 1% have a quarter of the wealth, and the top 10 percent something in the area of 45/50%. of all taxable income, your chart is meaningless . All your chart proves is how limited the wealth is to a minority .
I have not had to work for many years ,and still don't need to. So you can't even get that right I can get off my arse anytime ,you should learn to not keep talking through yours.

[Nick]

How they got there is not the point. What they contribute to the general welfare and political health of the nation is more to the point ,and you only have to look at the figures, [highlight]and the general state of affairs in this  country to realise that our true economy is severely unbalanced. [/highlight]
Hence the fact that wage earners across the board are needing to attempt to rebalance the situation by withdrawing  labour. Yes recent hikes in some essential world markets have increased the severity of some workers situations , but the hit on wages has been happening for all of the twelve years of a Tory government that attempted to practise what it calls small government by applying cuts far beyond their actual need, whilst shifting more and more of the national income into less and less pairs of hands. Outside of the privileged few we are all about to pay through the nose for this outlook. Because this is now not just about wages, as such it's about wages within some very underfunded organisations that just happen to be important to the lives and liberties of all of us.

You're not kidding it's unbalanced, I'll show you just unbalanced it is with your broader shoulders nonsense. 



The top 10% earners in the U.K. pay more tax than the other 90 put together, so instead of bleating about your situation get off your arse and work a bit harder. All I hear is 'What is the government doing to help me?', what are you doing to help your self should be the question. 

[Good old]

That's your point? Do you think they got to that position by luck or hard graft?

How they got there is not the point. What they contribute to the general welfare and political health of the nation is more to the point ,and you only have to look at the figures, and the general state of affairs in this  country to realise that our true economy is severely unbalanced.
Hence the fact that wage earners across the board are needing to attempt to rebalance the situation by withdrawing  labour. Yes recent hikes in some essential world markets have increased the severity of some workers situations , but the hit on wages has been happening for all of the twelve years of a Tory government that attempted to practise what it calls small government by applying cuts far beyond their actual need, whilst shifting more and more of the national income into less and less pairs of hands. Outside of the privileged few we are all about to pay through the nose for this outlook. Because this is now not just about wages, as such it's about wages within some very underfunded organisations that just happen to be important to the lives and liberties of all of us.

[T00ts]

The current strikes have struck gold. They have wanted to strike for ages for purely political reasons but the current inflation has opened the doors.

[patman post]

I hear many claims for increased pay, claiming that workers have had pay cuts. Is this true?

Admittedly, people who are paid by the hour/day will get no pay if strikes mean they can't get to work, but are strikers actually striking because they're getting fewer pounds and pence in their pay packets?

Or are they using the current inflation as the reason for being paid more? And if so, would they be willing to have their pay reduced by the amount cost of living reduces, if/when it does?

I guess the outcry — when the temporary £20 uplift to Universal Credit to counter pandemic hardships was going to end — gives the answer...

[Borchester]

All of this seems to be missing the point.

Steve and friends sit at their supermarket till, demanding a better deal and ignoring the automatic checkouts that will soon replace them.

It does not matter how virtuous you are, if all you can offer is enormous dollops of guilt and a load of well meaning bollocks about how deserving you are, ultimately you will be fucked.

I am currently trying to teach the integral calculus to a bunch of smart, computer literate teenagers, one of whom has just pointed out that he could write a program for the trapezium rule and cut out half the the A level maths syllabus.

Why, he asked, has that not been done already?

Because, I replied, it would take the bread out of the mouths of thousands of maths teachers and tutors such as myself. It will happen soon enough I said, but by then I will probably be gaga and won't notice.

Amazingly enough, the book sales are holding up....

[Nick]

When their main concern is to maintain this situation ,then of course wages can't go up.
https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2021/jan/03/richest-1-have-almost-a-quarter-of-uk-wealth-study-claims

That's your point? Do you think they got to that position by luck or hard graft?

[Good old]

As explained wages can't go up, and don't you think the government has dished enough out in handouts over the last 2 years?

When their main concern is to maintain this situation ,then of course wages cant go up.
https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2021/jan/03/richest-1-have-almost-a-quarter-of-uk-wealth-study-claims

[Nick]

I don't know anyone in employment outside the political elite whose pay rise and perks covers the energy bill hike. Your point seems singularly irrelevant.

I never mentioned a pay rise, that's probably why you deem it irrelevant. 

[johnofgwent]

I'm not advocating giving the rich more or taking away from the poor, the issue is, nothing has convinced me the poor are doing enough to improve their situation. There are millions of jobs to be filled and millions of UNEMPLOYED, and before you jump up and down I'm not talking about other benefits, I'm purely talking about the unemployed. If they all got jobs the difference in the coffers would be £13 billion a year, perhaps thats a starting block to give the government more money to help people.

I don't know anyone in employment outside the political elite whose pay rise and perks covers the energy bill hike. Your point seems singularly irrelevant.

[Nick]

But you always seem to be self-servingly advocating giving the rich even more whilst giving the poor even less.

I'm not advocating giving the rich more or taking away from the poor, the issue is, nothing has convinced me the poor are doing enough to improve their situation. There are millions of jobs to be filled and millions of UNEMPLOYED, and before you jump up and down I'm not talking about other benefits, I'm purely talking about the unemployed. If they all got jobs the difference in the coffers would be £13 billion a year, perhaps thats a starting block to give the government more money to help people.

[Nalaar]

So what do you suggest? Putting wages up by any chance?

The best tool available to a government to ease inflation pain is tax relief, this will particularly help low income households and small/medium businesses.

However, after 12 years of conservative government the UKs national debt has increased from roughly 60% GDP in 2009, into the 80%s in the 20-teens, and was 95-98% GDP earlier this year. This consistent increase of national debt during a period of positive economic growth means that if the government does want to take a tax revenue hit to help individuals and businesses then we're going to shoot through 100% GDP as active debt - For a sense of scale the cost of the recession in the late 2000s added about 30% of GDP as active debt.

https://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/uk_national_debt_analysis

[patman post]

Germany is preparing €10bn (£8.5bn) of relief for families battling the rising cost of living as British households brace for a £30bn stealth tax raid spurred by price increases.

Finance minister Christian Lindner said the country would raise income tax thresholds while millions of UK taxpayers are dragged into higher bands, costing them £30bn a year.

Germany will increase the base tax-free allowance and also bring up the level at which the country's 42pc top income tax rate kicks in to help counter soaring inflation.

Mr Lindner said: "To allow for a tax increase during these times is not fair, and is dangerous for economic development." Families with dependent children would also get further relief, he said.


So who's right?

When the UK actually gets a working government back, are we all under the cosh...?

https://www.tweet247.net/news/germany/germany-raises-income-tax-thresholds-as-uk-families-brace-for-30bn-stealth-raid

[patman post]

When it comes to tax cuts, helping the poorest workers proportionately more is best achieved by raising thresholds rather than by cutting base rates.

Seems fair, though we probably need our ex-HMRC poster to evaluate this...