The nation's wage bill falls £52bn in five years while top exec pay keeps rising

Fee, Chris and KJ - if not the mainstream political parties - see the problem...

SOURCE MIRROR: Nation's wage bill falls £52bn to £638bn in five years with North West suffering sharpest cuts
Falling real wages, reduced hours and changes in the kind jobs people are doing has reduced the nation’s total pay, said a TUC report. This means a 7.5% drop on average since the eve of the recession in 2007. The North West suffered the sharpest cut of 10.6%. The South West, West Midlands and Scottish economies have also seen pay packets shrink by around 10%. Despite a small rise in the number of people in work since 2007, it has failed to offset the sharp cuts to workers’ wages. The TUC says if people have less money and are spending less, businesses will struggle: “It’s no wonder businesses are struggling when so much demand has been sucked out of the economy.”

SOURCE DAILY MAIL: Top companies' bosses pay and perks rise 10% to £4.3m on average
This year the leaders of FTSE 100 firms continued to enjoy salary hikes, while the average worker received a pay rise of just 1%, well below the current 2.4% inflation rate which equates to a pay cut in real terms. According to the Office for National Statistics that 1% figure is the lowest since its records began in 2001. 

OUR RELATED STORIES:

Since 1979, under Labour or Tory governments, the rich have got richer whilst economic performance remained the same

The share of national income being paid to employees has been dropping since the 1970s

Austerity shifts wealth, rights and opportunity up the wealth ladder. The only winners are those at the top