The continued return of growth to the economy is beginning to more fully register with union members and, consequently, is now feeding into their demands for pay rises after a prolonged period of sacrifices since the beginning of the recession in 2008. These included pay freezes, pay cuts and short-time working and have led to a falling level of real wages of some 13.5% according to the GMB union. in his New Year message, the head of the main employers’ organisation, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), urged members to pass on the fruits of economic growth to their employees.
Pay monitoring organisation, XpertHR, predicted that private sector pay awards will be between 2% and 3% until the middle of 2014 (based on a survey of employers’ intentions) while the level of inflation is predicted to remain at around 3% during 2014 (which is a rise compared to 2013 and where for the last quarter of 2013, XpertHR reported the average wage rise was 2%). This would mean that workers still experience a further fall in the level of their real wages.
It is this – at a time of econo
…Do you have information to share with us?