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Workers’ pay down £1200 in two years

Workers have lost a ‘staggering’ £1200 from their pay packets according to Scotland’s largest trade union body.

New analysis from the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) has revealed workers' pay in Scotland is down by £1223 within the last two years as a result of pay not keeping up with inflation. The average worker in Scotland took home £533 a week in October. In real terms, this has fallen £13 a week since October 2021.

Office for National Statistics data further reveals an increase in unemployment from 3.3% to 4%, with economic inactivity rising from 22.3% to 22.7% and employment falling from 75.1% to 74.3%.

The information has been condemned by STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer, calling the UK Government’s economic strategy “economically incompetent”.

Commenting, Ms Foyer said:

“It’s absolutely staggering that due to the economic incompetence of the UK Government, workers throughout the country are paying the price to the tune of £1223.

“In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis and because of the UK Government’s failure to bring down inflation, workers are still feeling the overall pinch in their pay packets.

“Worse still, with an incredibly gloomy economic outlook with employment down, unemployment up alongside rising economic inactivity, unions throughout the country are absolutely right to point out that the UK Government and Bank of England economic strategy is actually costing jobs. “You cannot allow inflation to cut to the bone the wages of hard-pressed workers and conceivably expect economic growth. There is another way: progressive taxation of those with the most and redistribute that into the pockets of those who have the least. Anything else is just a deliberate slight on workers.

END

Notes to editors:

Links to datasets as follows:

General Secretary’s newspaper columns

We should all be concerned at the state of our universities The Herald, 3rd February

My parents deaths showed me how vital social care is The Herald, 27th January

US is wrong to claim it has brokered peace in Middle east The Herald, 20th January

James Watt is spouting nonsense about work life balance The Herald, 13th January

Scotland’s policy of higher tax for the wealthy hasn’t hurt wage rises The Herald, 6th January

Scots are losing their jobs as the Just Transition goes backwards The Herald, 30th December

Here’s how we can drive down the cost of Christmas for everyone The Herald, 23rd December

Free bus passes are a lifeline not a luxury The Herald, 16th December

Scottish budget dodged critical decisions The Herald, 9th December

Scotland’s Budget must deliver for workers The Herald, 2nd December

Save Grangemouth project is vital to turn tide on 50 years of failure The Herald, 25th November

Trump is back and the far right is too The Herald, 18 November

We cannot sit back and allow Palestine to die, says STUC chief The Herald, 11 November

Unpicking what the Budget means for workers The Herald, 4th November

John Swinney was right - and Labour must listen, says STUC chief The Herald, 28th October

So many broken promises: why we’ve walked away from care service bill The Herald, 22nd October

We can’t always get what we want. But we can try hard to do so The Herald, 14th October

Good news on tips for workers The Herald, 7th October

Sir Keir needs to invest - not force through endless cuts The Herald, 30th September

We must remember the lessons of the Auchengeich disaster The Herald, 23rd September

Global corporations are destroying Scottish jobs - we must stop them The Herald, 16th September

Want to let Glasgow flourish? Help its children The Herald, 9th September

Scotland’s culture cannot be for rich people only The Herald, 26th August

The deeper issues that both our governments need to address The Herald, 19th August

Far-right hate mob exploited tragedy for their own ends The Herald, 12th August

Public services denigration and nefarious far-right risks The Herald, 5th August

Workers could do with a retirement like Joe Biden will have The Herald, 19th July

Pomp. Pageantry. Performance. Politics. The Herald, 22nd July

The kids are alright and we should listen to them The Herald, 15th July

Labour must tear up anti-union legislation, says STUC chief The Herald, 8th July

Politicans should hedge their bets on the workers The Herald, 1st July

Grangemouth is first test of Labour’s commitment to a just transition The Herald, 24th June

Politicians talk the talk but they don’t walk the walk over education The Herald, 17th June

Media must step up to the plate amid the rise of the far right The National, 15th June

Green Industrial Strategy could create tens of thousands of jobs The Herald, 27th May

Failure to devolve power casts a shadow over Holyrood The Herald, 20th May

Trade unions will work with FM to help end policy failure The National, 18th May

Workers have had enough of nice ideas from the SNP The Herald, 13th May

Scottish and UK governments must not let Grangemouth refinery die The Herald, 6th May

I predict new era of cooperation between Labour and SNP The Herald, 22nd April

Scotland’s support for Palestinians IS making a difference The National, 20th April

Strike action works and we make no apologies for it The Herald, 15th April

Sunak’s Freeports are called Greenports here but there’s no difference The Herald, 8th April

Mandelson has pushed Labour to ‘soften’ New Deal for Working People The Herald, 1st April

Miners’ strike taught us justice is not achieved through asking nicely The Herald, 18th March

Anas Sarwar’s Scottish Labour plans tax cuts for middle earners The Herald, 26th February

Highland workers need action, not more rhetoric The Herald, 2nd February

Grangemouth Refinery closure must be halted The Herald, 24th November

King’s Speech proved how badly we need an election The National 15th November

We march against fascism. Would Braverman want to ban us too? Herald 14th November

We should be furious that workers were thrown to wolves during Covid The National 27th October

SNP Can’t blame Labour deluge on the weather The National 14th October

Why we must fight for the future of further education Herald 13th October

The attack on Unison’s Johanna Baxter is nonsense - here’s why The National 29th September

Labour must commit to the devolution of employment law Herald 29th September

Why we must have a wholesale revolution on social care Herald 12th September

Roz Foyer: First Minister says he ‘isn’t afraid to pick a side’ – so do it The National 9th September

It’s time to pay women fairly. Let the bosses pay the bill The National 1st September

Politicians beware: the people are not prepared to lie down any longer Herald 18th August

Strikes in Scotland seem endless? Well the workers are fed up too The National 12th August

It’s time we took back control of our buses The National 4th August

Two-child benefit cap: Dismay over lack of vision from Labour Herald 21st July

When it comes to care, we must put people before profit Herald 12th July 2023

What can we say about Humza Yousaf’s record after 100 days in the job? The National 8th July 2023

Profiteering is driving up costs and they want you to take the blame. Herald 5th July 2023

We have a real chance to deliver fairness for workers. Let’s take it. Herald 10th June 2023

Never forget Pride is a protest as well as a celebration The National 10th June 2023

The Yes campaign may have stalled but people still want change Herald 6th June 2023

Forget the coronation, profit is king in the UK The National 13th May 2023

The First Minister must stay firm on free school meals Herald 8th May 2023

What are the politicians going to do to rescue our democracy? Herald 13th April 2023

First Minister Humza Yousaf must work with trade unions to succeed The National 8th April 2023

Next first minister must show same respect to unions The National 21st March

Government has turbocharged our resolve on workers’ rights The National 31st January

 

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