19 February 2015

TUC’s Fair Pay Fortnight: 16 February – March 1

Fair Pay Fortnight is part of the TUC’s Britain Needs a Pay Rise campaign. It will feature a series of events across England and Wales to raise awareness about low pay, pay inequality and the need for higher pay settlements in the public and private sector.

As the election gets closer politicians are scrambling to appear worker friendly, with David Cameron posturing that “Britain needs a pay rise”. A clear case of much too little, much too late.

As Frances O’Grady points out; “Cameron’s imitation of the TUC’s slogan “Britain needs a pay rise” was more theft than flattery. After all, the prime minister has presided over the longest squeeze on real earnings since the 1850s. And as nurses, firefighters and other public workers suffering real pay cuts can testify, this government has failed to practise what the prime minister preached.”

Income inequality and in-work poverty are gaining column inches at an exponential rate. There is an increasing acknowledgement that pay and employment rights are responsible for the cost of living crisis and; it will be a pivotal issue in the general election.

The Institute of Employment Rights calls for collective bargaining to be accepted as an antidote to these problems. A video featuring Keith Ewing and John Hendy has been released by the IER to mark fair pay fortnight. In it, they explain collective bargaining, the effect of its decline and what its restoration would mean for workers in the future. Watch it here: