UK set for lowest wage growth among advanced economies in 2018 - analysis
2 min read
The fall in wages will be “bleaker” next year than it was in 2017 as the UK slumps to the bottom of a key global league table, unions have warned.
Pay in Britain will drop by -0.7% in real terms next year - the worst performance among the 31 OECD economies - according to a new analysis by the Trades Union Congress.
It comes after a difficult year for wages in the UK, with inflation rising to more than 3% in the wake of the vote to leave the EU.
According to the TUC, wage growth when adjusted for inflation will fall below that of Greece, Italy and Austria and will not return to pre-crash levels for almost another decade.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Real wages are still lower than they were when the financial crisis hit in 2008. And 2018 is set to be bleaker still.”
She added: “On current projections, average pay won’t recover until 2025 – a full 17 years after the pay squeeze began.”
It came after left-leaning thinktank the Resolution Foundation said no noticeable wage growth is likely until the end of the 2018.
Using official figures they projected an end to the pay squeeze of this year but said real wage growth is set to be zero across 2018 as a whole.
'NO CETA BREXIT DEAL'
Elsewhere, Ms O’Grady warned against the UK adopting a Canada-style trade deal with the EU after Brexit - a system favoured by Brussels for the future relationship.
“Trade deals like CETA don’t protect workers’ rights, set up special courts just for corporations and make it harder to bring rail back into public ownership,” she said.
“So instead, we want all options on the table, including keeping us in the single market and customs union, and we’ll keep fighting for the deal working people need.”
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